Jury tampering

Ireland

In Ireland, the Special Criminal Court is a three-judge, juryless court which tries cases based on a majority vote. Use of the Special Criminal Court is restricted to cases where "ordinary courts are inadequate to secure the effective administration of justice", and is allowed for by the Constitution of Ireland. While the power was initially created to prevent court cases being subverted by juries sympathetic to the defendant, the Special Criminal Court was established in 1972 to handle paramilitary cases resulting from the Troubles, when the risk of jury intimidation was high and there had also been a series of light sentences and acquittals by judges and juries sympathetic to the defendants. It has since been used to try cases of high-profile gang leaders and other high-risk non-terrorism cases where normal juries risk intimidation or revenge.

United Kingdom

In Great Britain, the Criminal Justice Act 2003 allows for non-jury trials when there is danger of jury tampering, or where jury tampering has taken place. On 18 June 2009, the Court of Appeal in England and Wales made a landmark ruling that resulted in the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, allowing the first-ever criminal trial to be held without a jury by invoking Section 44 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The case in question involved four men accused of an armed robbery at Heathrow Airport in February 2004. After three juries either failed to reach verdicts or were discharged, the fourth trial of the case took place before a single judge, and ended on 31 March 2010 with guilty verdicts for all four accused. The UK had previously established non-jury courts in Northern Ireland, known as Diplock Courts.

Levels of jury tampering were reported in 2002 to be a "major problem" by the deputy commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police and in 2003 to be "worryingly high" in Merseyside by the then Chief Constable Norman Bettison and the then Home Secretary David Blunkett.

Cases

• Gil Dozier, Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry, was charged with jury tampering while on bail and after being convicted of five felonies, including extortion and racketeering. He served nearly four years in prison.
• Jimmy Hoffa, a trade union leader, was convicted of jury tampering in 1964.
• The former West Virginia Governor, William Wallace Barron was convicted of jury tampering in 1971.
• George Pape, a jury foreman in a 1987 trial of John Gotti, sought out Gotti's underlings, who agreed to pay him $75,000 in exchange for a not guilty vote. Pape was later convicted of jury tampering and sentenced to three years imprisonment.
• In 2007, an attempt to bribe a juror in a case investigating cigarette smuggling in Northern Ireland led to the retrial being heard by a judge sitting alone, the first such ruling.

References

References

1. (1 June 2017). "Jury finds man guilty of jury tampering after passing out juror rights pamphlets".
2. Ó Faoleán, Gearóid. (2019). "A Broad Church: The Provisional IRA in the Republic of Ireland, 1969–1980". Merrion Press.
3. CPS. (10 January 2008). "Non Jury Trials: Legal Guidance". The Crown Prosecution Service.
4. (31 March 2010). "Gang convicted of Heathrow raid".
5. (29 December 2002). "Cases of jury tampering soar". Independent.
6. (18 November 2003). "Blunkett tackles jury tampering". BBC News.
7. "Persistence paid off for jailed Dozier", ''[[Minden Press-Herald]]'', 23 July 1984, p. 1
8. "Bill Sherman, "Louisiana ag chiefs: past and present", 3 July 2008". ldaf.state.la.us.
9. (12 March 1964). "Hoffa faces eight years behind bars". BBC News.
10. (30 March 1971). "Ex-Governor of West Virginia Pleads Guilty to Bribing Foreman of His Jury". The New York Times.
11. Lubasch, Arnold H.. (7 November 1992). "Juror Is Convicted of Selling Vote to Gotti". The New York Times.
12. (16 October 2007). "Jury bribe bid sees trial ruling". BBC News.