... no criminal offences in the last 10 years, you must be over 18 and under 70 years old and you must of lived in the UK for a minimum of 5 years since your thirteenth birthday. The act of parliament which set out these qualifications was called "The Juries act of 1974". There are many advantages in favour of a jury. The jury is supposed to represent a cross section of the UK's public, where as most judges are middle class, middle aged and middle minded. For example, if there was a case on possession of cannabis then the judge would unnecessarily perceive this to be of a more serious nature than a jury. This is also known as trial by peers. There are lots more advantages of juries, such as; juries give a decision based on fact as they have little knowledge of law. There are twelve people on ...

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