§ Mr. Ellisasked the Attorney-General what tests are applied to determine the competence of jurors in understanding English.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThere are no formal tests; but since jurors are sworn in individually it is usually possible for the court and counsel on both sides to form a judgment and object to their being seated.
§ Mr. Ellisasked the Attorney General how many jurors randomly chosen to serve on juries in England during the 12 months ended on the most recent convenient date were not called by court administrators because of their inadequate knowledge of English.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThis information is not available. The court administrator has not this power but it is within302W the discretion of the judge to order a juror to stand by and of either counsel to object or challenge.
§ Mr. Ellisasked the Attorney-General how many jurors randomly chosen to serve on juries in England during the 12 months ended on the most recent convenient date were objected to by the defence on the grounds of their inadequate command of English.
§ The Attorney-GeneralI regret that this information is not available. Such cases are infrequent.
§ Mr. Ellisasked the Attorney-General how many jurors served on juries in England during the 12 months ended on the most recent convenient date.
§ The Attorney-GeneralIt is estimated that during the 12 months beginning 1st July 1972 about 200,000 jurors were sworn in the Crown Court, of whom nearly 14,000 served in courts on the Wales and Chester Circuit. The number of individual persons who served cannot readily be ascertained but is considerably lower as many of them served more than once.
§ Mr. Ellisasked the Attorney-General under what general categories of reasons, and in what proportion, randomly chosen jurors in England during the most recent convenient period of 12 months were excused from jury service.
§ The Attorney-GeneralDetailed information is not available. The most frequent grounds for excusal, in order of importance, are health, business commitments, holidays, age—over 60—and family responsibilities. About 95 per cent. of all cases in which persons are excused fall into one of these categories.
§ Mr. Ellisasked the Attorney-General what proportion of randomly chosen jurors in England during the most recent convenient period of 12 months were excused from jury service for whatever reason.
§ The Attorney-GeneralExact figures are not available but it is estimated that between 30 per cent. and 40 per cent. of persons summoned are excused. In most of these cases the excusal is temporary and the person excused is summoned again at a later date.