"Hello, I apologise for interrupting there. Please find the following details. An officer, Mark Manners-Jones from Metropolitan Police, is trying to contact you in regard to a recent court case in Aylesbury. If you could please contact him when you have chance. His number is [number given]."
"I was not aware there was a police officer within the jury during the trial. Mark told me on the phone call he did disclose this at the start so he says the court would have been aware of this."
"(i) To obtain from the Crown Court and the Central Jury Summonsing Bureau a copy of the documentation sent to jurors attending Aylesbury Crown Court as regards their obligation to reveal to the court if they are a serving police officer (e.g., the guidance leaflet and any questionnaire). (ii) To establish whether jurors are routinely reminded, either orally or in writing, of this obligation, including in any video that is routinely played to jury panel; (iii) To establish whether the forms completed by any jurors in this trial (in this context) would have been retained; (iv) If they would have been retained, to obtain a copy of any documentation provided by Mr Manners-Jones; (v) To enquire of the court and of the Central Jury Summonsing Bureau as to the circumstances in which a completed questionnaire may not have reached its appropriate destination (and to ascertain whether any completed form would have been sent by conventional post or electronically); (vi) If no written response by Mr Manners-Jones is discovered, or any written response by him does not declare his status as a serving police officer: (a) to enquire of the court officer and the Central Jury Summonsing Bureau whether there is any other reliable means of determining or confirming whether the juror revealed he was a serving police officer, and to make any further reasonable enquiries as identified (with leave to seek directions from the court if this is considered necessary); and (b) to interview Mr Manners-Jones to establish whether he disclosed his status as a police officer to the court, including by completing the questionnaire and if he did not do so, the reason for his failure to disclose his status."
"I am a Police Sergeant employed by the Metropolitan Police and manage the Driving Academy. Due to my unique skill set and limited numbers of instructors, conducting Jury Service will have a massive negative impact on our training / course delivery. Our courses run from 3 -12 weeks in duration and therefore any abstraction can have a critical impact on course delivery. I am also away on for a long weekend from Thursday 19th November. Many thanks."
"Met Police – London"
"Do you work for any prosecuting agency, such as the Police, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), or the National Probation Service?"
"The trial judge had not been notified of the presence of a police officer on the jury panel. In such cases judges must assess whether a police officer may serve as a juror. The test is 'whether the fair minded and informed observer, having considered the facts, would conclude that there was a real possibility that the juror was biased'. The absence of this key stage in safeguarding against bias or the appearance of bias causes the applicant's convictions to be unsafe."
"A judge should always be made aware at the stage of jury selection if any juror in waiting is in these categories. The juror summons warns jurors in these categories that they will need to alert court staff."
"The test to apply is well established: whether the fair minded and informed observer, having considered the facts, would conclude that there was a real possibility that the tribunal was biased."
"The available material supports the conclusion that, on the balance of probabilities, the judge had not been notified of the presence of the police officer on the jury panel as a result of a deliberate omission on the part of the police officer. In all of the circumstances of this case, this omission causes the applicant's convictions to be unsafe."
"Communication between the police officer who served on the jury and the officer in the case, following the conclusion of the trial, is such that a fair-minded observer could conclude that there was a real possibility that the juror was biased."
"The reliance of the jury staff on jurors making occupation disclosures on an emergency contact form, which is then used to endorse the jury panel list (in ignorance of what has been previously disclosed), fails to recognise the action taken by the CJSB and the respective juror in ensuring that correct disclosures are made, recorded and acted upon."