The claimant sought damages from the police for the manner of her arrest. At the civil trial, the jury had been undecided, and the court directed the jury as to resolution. The respondents appealed saying that the judge had put too much pressure on the jury.
Held: The learned judge should have given a Watson direction and he did not do so. The suggestion of retiring again came from the jury itself, and without pressure from the judge. The decision stood.
Judges:
The Master Of The Rolls (Lord Phillips) Lord Justice Brooke Lord Justice Laws
Citations:
[2003] EWCA Civ 271
Links:
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina v Watson CACD 1988
The court indicated how a jury might be directed in the event of an apparent deadlock, given two public interests which tend to pull in opposite directions: (i) the imperative that a jury should be put under no pressure; and (ii) the desirability of . .
Cited – Regina v Buono CACD 1992
. .
Cited – Regina v Morgan CACD 26-Mar-1997
A failure to five a jury warning in the precise form suggested in Watson need not make the trial unfair. . .
Cited – Regina v Tarlock Singh (Deceased) CACD 4-Jun-1998
A departure from a Watson direction will not necessarily make a jury verdict unsafe. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Litigation Practice
Updated: 07 June 2022; Ref: scu.181135
