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Where am I now? Lawlink > Sheriff's Office Homepage > Jury Service: Homepage > Jury Service: Role and Responsibilities
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Jury Service: Role and Responsibilities
The role of the jury
In NSW, juries are used in both criminal and civil trials. In a criminal trial the jury’s function is to hear evidence, apply the law as directed by the judge and to decide if a person is guilty or not guilty of a crime.
Civil trials are usually about defamation proceedings. The trial judge will outline the issues that the jury will decide on.
The jury's decision is called a "verdict" and in NSW the jury does not participate in the sentencing process.
The responsibilities of jurors
- You do not need any special skills to be a juror. Jurors draw on their own background and life experiences, which will vary greatly from juror to juror. Do not be afraid to speak up and put your thoughts forward.
- An accused person has the right to a fair trial. It is therefore up to jurors to give their full attention to the trial proceedings. This means jurors should not take unrelated materials such as books, magazines or games into the courtroom. Jurors should at all times be unbiased, open-minded, fair and impartial.
- All jury discussions must occur in the jury room and only when all jurors are present. Do not discuss the case with any other people. You should avoid speaking to any person in the precincts of the court. If you attend work on a day when court is not sitting be careful not to discuss any details of the trial with your workmates.
- You will be provided with a notebook to take notes as needed.
- You must not, during the course of the trial, use any material or research tool, such as the Internet, to access legal databases, earlier decisions of this or other courts, and/or other material of any kind, which relates to any matter arising in the trial.
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