OPINION: Courts are reluctant to overturn jury verdicts — so why did Pell's appeal succeed?
Judges of the High Court have long wrestled with the difficulty of subverting the important role of the jury. In 1997, then… the courts accept the jury as the possessor of both the skills and the advantages that are required to reach a proper verdict. In my respectful opinion, any contrary approach denies the importance of trial by jury and is inconsistent with the constitutional function which the jury performs.
I have always thought this a slightly odd observation given that magistrates, not juries, determine the vast majority of criminal cases that arrive for trial in Australia's courts. For survivors of child sexual abuse, reading the details of crimes can provoke a wide range of emotions. We spoke to experts about how to deal with triggering, traumatic news.
Whatever one may think of the Pell decision, it is appropriate there be such a final arbiter in the justice process.
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