When is jury sworn

The defendant sits in the dock accompanied by a prison officer. Youths appearing in court sit next to the dock. They swear the jury and co-ordinate the court proceedings. Once a jury has been chosen, two jury keepers usually members of court security staff are also sworn. Their job is to make sure that no one contacts jurors during the trial and to provide a way for jurors to communicate with the court. Also known as counsel, barristers wear black robes and wigs.

Prosecution counsel presents the evidence against the defendant to the court. Sometimes solicitor advocates will present evidence in the Crown Court in place of a barrister. The solicitor advocates will carry out the same role as a barrister but don't wear a wig or gown. Solicitors sit either behind or in front of counsel. They will have previously instructed counsel given them the details of the case before the case has come to court.

They don't speak in court except when the jury is being selected. There are many types of witnesses that can be called during a case. Witnesses may include forensic scientists, police officers, medical experts, eyewitnesses and others. Some evidence is very detailed and specialised. Listen carefully to all the evidence and pay attention to any exhibits, as this will be the basis on which you must decide your verdict.

The Crown Court is a court of record. All proceedings are accurately recorded by a digital recording system operated by the court clerk, or by a shorthand writer or stenographer.

If there is a stenographer or shorthand writer, they usually sit beside the court clerk and records everything that is said in court. This record may be used if the case goes to appeal. The case follows a set pattern. The court clerk reads out the charges against the accused person.

The prosecution begins by outlining details of the case, calling and questioning witnesses. When the prosecution has finished questioning each witness, it is the defence counsel's turn to question the same witnesses.

This is cross-examination. When the prosecution case is complete, the defence follows a similar procedure by calling the witnesses who can be cross-examined by the prosecution. In a few cases, such as cases involving vulnerable adult or child witnesses, the witness may sit in a separate room in the courthouse and give evidence to the court using video-link equipment.

A vulnerable adult or child may have an intermediary present to help them in giving their evidence to the court. There may be times when the legal professionals and the judge need time to discuss a point of law. The judge will ask the jury to leave the court for a short time. Once the matter has been resolved, the jury will be asked back to the courtroom. When all the evidence has been given, the prosecution and then the defence will make their closing speeches when they will try to convince the jury of their respective cases.

Finally, the judge sums up. This means they will go over the facts of the case and tell you, the jury, about the relevant law. The judge will also give you advice before you retire to the jury room to discuss the case.

Think about their comments carefully as judges are lawyers with years of experience. Isn't this putting them in double jeopardy? The answer to that is somewhat less than straightforward to the average person, given the way courts have interpreted this particular clause of the Fifth Amendment.

One of the boundaries that courts have established that limits our Constitutional protection against "twice be[ing] put in jeopardy of life or limb" is the concept of attachment. When jeopardy is said to "attach" is the first time in a legal proceeding at which courts legally recognize the accused has been put in jeopardy of life or limb as intended by the Fifth Amendment.

We might consider ourselves in jeopardy of life and limb when a police officer points a gun at or shoots us, tasers us, tackles us and pins us painfully to the ground with a boot on our back, handcuffs us and imprisons us, etc.

None of those things, however, are considered in the American legal system to put us in jeopardy for purposes of the Fifth Amendment prohibition against double jeopardy. Neither does being indicted or charged put us in such jeopardy, according to the courts.

Neither does being held in pre-trial detention without bond. Neither does being brought into pre-trial hearings or even selecting a jury "start the clock", so to speak, on jeopardy. Jeopardy attaches at different times depending on what route a case takes through the legal system—trial by jury, bench trial, plea bargain, or juvenile proceeding.

In a trial by jury, the rule is that jeopardy attaches when a trial jury is sworn. However, hours of attendance may vary and depend on the judge. The court staff will keep you up to date. If you are not sworn as a juror for a trial on that day, you will be free to go unless otherwise directed by the presiding judge.

If you are in employment, you should return to work. However, you are still on jury service, and you must attend every morning during the period of your service unless otherwise directed by the judge. What happens on the day I go to court? Click here for our Covid 19 Response Updates. Jurors are selected.

Jurors are selected Names of jurors are selected randomly for a particular case.