Vigil at Reading Crown Court held for jurors rights

A jury of 12 citizens is called whenever a defendant pleads innocent of a crime. It is then up to a jury to find the defendant either guilty or innocent.

The principle of having a jury to settle a court case has existed for centuries, but there are growing concerns about judges influencing the decisions of juries.

Protestors held the silent vigil outside Reading Crown Court today (Monday, December 4) with placards saying ‘Juries have a right to give their verdict according to their convictions’ and ‘Save our Juries’.

READ MORE: Jury members say they are 'too cold' to sit in Reading Crown Court

James Coombs, a dad from Reading and one of the participants said: “Why is it important? That goes back to the Magna Carta really (1215 AD), and the right of people to be judged by their peers.

“And there is this case back in 1670 when a Judge tried to tell a jury what decision to reach and basically he was overruled by a more senior judge, establishing the law as we know it, and it’s very important that we comply with law and don’t lose this right to be judged by juries.

“The judiciary provides a real check in a functioning democracy. We’ve got to have a good independent judiciary.”

A vigil held to remind jurors of their rights outside Reading Crown Court. Credit: James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporting Service

The ‘Right of Juries’ to give their verdict according to their convictions was established in the ‘Bushel’s Case’ of William Penn and William Mead in 1670, where a judge was found to be unduly influencing the jury.

Hundreds of years prior to that, the Magna Carter signed by King John in 1215 AD established the origins of the trial-by-jury system.

A jury recently acquitted nine women who damaged the windows of the HSBC building in London following a trial on Thursday, November 16.

The case was cited by Mr Coombs as a modern example of jury members exercising their rights.

Mr Coombs added: “The jury took just two hours to reach their decision, which was a good result.”

The silent vigil, which ended at 10am, was part of the nationwide ‘Defend Our Juries’ campaign.

The protest is the second of its kind held outside Reading Crown Court, with a previous vigil being held in September.

Defend Our Juries have expressed concerns that judges are denying both defendants and jurors their rights by restricting what defendants can say in their trials and by limiting what jurors are allowed to hear.

The campaign has also argued that defendants should be able to express their motivations to the jury.