Jury system in Australias' court

Jury system in Australia’s court
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Jury system in Australia’s court
Background
After the Norman Conquest of England, the Frankish ritual of inquisitions was joined with the present Anglo-Saxon county court; as a result the English jury was formed. The county court involved a monthly meeting of all free men of the shire to judge on civil and governmental issues that concerned the occupants of the shire. A group of 12 men would be gathered to solve a dispute depending on the knowledge they had concerning the argument. These men chosen acted as eyewitness to the fact. If they gave wrong facts, then their property was taken away and they ended up in prison.
A jury in an illegal case comprise of twelve individuals. The jury in a civil case comprise of four or six individuals. The jury system came first, before the current systems of courts of law. It originated from England, during the times of the Anglo-Saxons. There was a practice during those times whereby a person claimed to have violated a law would be set free if the allowed number of people emerged and swore that they knew he was not guilty. Though there have been attempts by the Parliament to eliminate the power of the jury in specific types of crimes, and to restrict their use in civil cases, the jury system is still famous as part of the law.
The change of the jury from being a symbol of truth to a type of trial took place significantly in the criminal field, though trial by jury for serious criminal issue was not known until the Norman Conquest. Before, a charged person would be tried by combat, ordeal or compurgation. The jury system was found as a method of retrieving information instead of safeguarding the freedom of the accused. But by mid-15th century, the nature of the jury system had encountered some changes. Though their number still remained 12, they were not supposed to have nay information concerning the accusation, and were only supposed to judge according to the evidence given under oath.
During the Tudor period, the jury system was viewed as a panel that would declare about the facts of the accusations before the law was applied. In the 17th century, the jury was stated to be independent and free from external influence that they encountered when deciding their verdict. As a result, the jury was viewed as people who would safe guard the freedom of the charged person. This was indicated by the English Bill of Rights of 1688, where juries discarded the Crown’s accusation.
The jury system gets some security from the Australian Constitution although not enough. Section 80 of the bill of rights for Australia ensures that the trial on accusation of any crime against any ruling of the Common wealth shall be by jury. In a number of cases starting with the R v Archdall in 1928, the High Court strongly restricted the security given by these terms. The jury trial was to be given where the state governm...