header-logo header-logo

Right of reply: Back to unanimity?

11 October 2024 / Nisha Waller , Naïma Sakande
Issue: 8089 / Categories: Features , Discrimination , In Court
printer mail-detail
192567
Nisha Waller & Naïma Sakande put the case for abolishing majority jury verdicts

Our research* on the racist and classist origins of majority jury verdicts considers why the principle of unanimity was abandoned in 1967 and explores the current implications of majority verdicts. In his recent NLJ article, Professor Michael Zander KC challenged our conclusion that racism and classism influenced the introduction of majority jury verdicts in England and Wales, and rejected our proposal to restore the principle of unanimity (see ‘Zander’s reflections’ (NLJ, 5 July 2024). Although we welcome Professor Zander’s response, as argument and counterargument only produce better knowledge, we would like to respond.

Do majority verdicts have racist & classist roots?

Yes. We considered findings covering extensive groups of archival material in coming to this conclusion. First, we looked at material covering race relations and the political climate in 1960s Britain. This material revealed a backdrop of public anxieties about immigration and the rise of anti-racist activism, with governments introducing successive legislation

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll