R v Ford
A judge has no power to order that a jury should be racially balanced.
Facts
Mr Ford, who was black, was tried for reckless driving and other offences. Before the trial, his counsel asked the judge to empanel a multiracial jury, because there was concern that an all white jury might not try him fairly. The judge refused, and Mr Ford was convicted.
Legal principle
The Court of Appeal held that the judge had been right to refuse the application. Lord Lane CJ said that a jury is to be selected at random from the panel, and that the trial judge has no power to influence its composition by directing that it should include people of a particular race. Fairness is achieved by the principle of random selection, and to depart from it would undermine the impartiality of the jury system.
Related cases on juries
- Attorney General v Dallas [2012] EWHC 156 (Admin), [2012] 1 WLR 991
- Attorney General v Fraill [2011] EWCA Crim 1570, [2012] 1 Cr App R 1
- Bushell's Case (1670) Vaughan 135
- Gregory v United Kingdom (1998) 25 EHRR 577
- Hanif and Khan v United Kingdom (2012) 55 EHRR 16
- R v Abdroikov [2007] UKHL 37, [2007] 1 WLR 2679
- R v Karakaya [2005] EWCA Crim 346, [2005] 2 Cr App R 5
- R v McKenna [1960] 1 QB 411
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This summary is for study and revision and is not legal advice. Although our case summaries are checked for accuracy, we do not guarantee that they are free from errors or omissions. Always read the full judgment for the court's reasoning.
