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Honourable Peter Kidd on jury trials and COVID-19
The Chief Judge of the County Court of Victoria has weighed in on why jury trials are left out of the COVID-19 transition, how to account for them when the courts resume as usual and what to expect for the future of jurors in the Australian justice system.
Naomi Neilson
In conversation with Victorian Bar council member Elizabeth Ruddle, the Chief Judge for the County Court of Victoria, the Honourable Peter Kidd, said in every case of the system post-COVID, the courts will need to proceed “cautiously” to ensure minimal risks.
“I don’t have a crystal ball, [however], clearly enough we’re moving into a period where there is some easing of the restrictions but it seems to be relatively gradual,” Chief Judge Kidd said.
“We need to continue to ensure a safe working environment for not just judges and staff, but practitioners and court users. The message out there in the community is we cannot automatically revert back to having hundreds of people congregating in a particular place, and we cannot afford to have that [happen] in a courthouse.”
For now, however, the question of remote juries is “not the answer”. Counsels, witnesses and judges may be operating smoothly via video link, but Chief Judge Kidd said the move will not be easily replicated with jurors as well. He said that to have a jury weigh in via the remote locations will “undermine the whole process” and raise questions of integrity.
There have been many questions on whether courts should weigh up the advantages for a remote jury, but Chief Judge Kidd said it is “terribly problematic” as it goes against what “lies at the heart” of the entire system: “the collectiveness, the togetherness of the jury.”
“They are selected together, they go to the jury box together, they hear evidence together, they have morning tea together, they discuss evidence together, they pore over evidence together, they deliberate together and they come to a decision together. To have the jury weigh in remotely undermines that whole process and raises questions of integrity,” he said.
As for the future of jury trials, Chief Judge Kidd pointed out that the judge-alone legislation will only operate for the six months it was in place and the decision to extend will be solely up to the government. It has been a central debate within the legal profession pre-COVID, but the courts and its judges are not keen to weigh in on the public discussion.
“I’ve always said, and I speak very broadly on behalf of court judges, that the jury system is an excellent system of justice and there are many good reasons why it has delivered outstanding justice. If that is to be modified, anybody doing the modifying needs to weigh into their decision-making process the many benefits the jury system offers,” he said.
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
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