Legislation / Legal
MoJ: Juries and the jury system in England & Wales are fair, unbiased and balanced according to a new study, which was commissioned in response to the Macpherson Report published in 1999. The new research claims in particular that the jury system does not discriminate against people from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds.
The four-year research study, published by the Ministry of Justice, shows:
- No differences between white and black and minority ethnic people in responding positively to being summoned for jury service
- Black and minority ethnic groups are not significantly under-represented among those summoned for jury service or among those serving as jurors
- Racially-mixed juries' verdicts do not discriminate against defendants based on their ethnicity
Press release ~ Diversity and Fairness in the Jury System ~ Juror section of CJS Online ~ HMCS – Jury Service ~ Macpherson Report