In a trial of an Asian defendant a juror complained that other jurors had made racist jokes, and feared that the defendant would not receive a fair trial. The judge obtained re-assurance from the jury that they would not so act, but did so in a way in which the complainor was identified. The trial was defective. The defendant could not be expected to accept that he had had a fair trial. The acquittal of an Asian co-defendant made no difference since the case against him was different.
Hudoc Violation of Art. 6-1; Pecuniary damage – claim rejected; Non-pecuniary damage – claim rejected
Citations:
Times 12-May-2000, 34129/96, (2000) 8 BHRC 279, (2000) 31 EHRR 1003, [2000] ECHR 193, [2000] ECHR 194
Links:
Cited by:
Distinguished – Regina v Qureshi CACD 23-Jul-2001
The appellant had been convicted of arson. A few days after the conviction, one juror reported concern about the behaviour of the jury.
Held: Authority was clear, that the court could not enter into an investigation of what had happened with . .
Distinguished – Regina v Smith (Lance Percival) CACD 19-Feb-2003
The defendant argued that the judge should have ensured that some members of the jury were black. He was a black man being tried by an all white jury, with a white victim and white witnesses.
Held: The judge had no part to play in the . .
Cited – Regina v Connor and another; Regina v Mirza HL 22-Jan-2004
Extension of Inquiries into Jury Room Activities
The defendants sought an enquiry as to events in the jury rooms on their trials. They said that the secrecy of a jury’s deliberations did not fit the human right to a fair trial. In one case, it was said that jurors believed that the defendant’s use . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Practice, Human Rights
Updated: 04 June 2022; Ref: scu.165869
