Criminal record 刑事案件中的陪审团无法获得被告过去犯罪记录的信息

Under the British and Australian laws a jury

in a criminal case has no access to

information about the defendant’s past

criminal record. This protects the person

who is being accused of the crime. Some

lawyers have suggested that this practice

should be changed and that a jury should be

given all the past facts before they reach

their decision about the case.

Discuss both these points of views and give

your own opinion. Give reasons for your answer

and include any relevant examples from your

own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250

words.

Sample Answer:

It is believed, and rightly so, that a person

learns from his past and makes his future bright

by correcting the mistakes committed in the past.

Due to this, a person should not be judged, as a

whole, by his past deeds only. Due the

weightage must be accorded to the present

circumstances in which the person commits an

act, which may either give a positive or a

negative result.

Different nations across the globe have a

different set of rules in respect of criminal cases

that come across the jury of such nation. The

jury under the British and Australian laws has no

access as regards the past criminal record of a

defendant. This provides an edge to the

defendant, as the jury comes to a decision in a

vacuum. Moreover, in absence of previous

criminal records the jury does not arrive at a

decision due to any biasedness or pre-conceived notion about the character of the

defendant. This situation, undoubtedly, favours

the defendant.

However, another school of thought believes

that the jury must be aware of the past criminal

records of the defendant. According to the

believers of this school, an access to the past

criminal records, actually provides a factual,

realistic and reasonable platform to the jury to

deliver their judgment. The past records, as a

matter of fact, provides the insight into nature,

character, upbringing, social level, mental health

and numerous other factors of the defendant.

With the help of these tools, it becomes easy

and logical for the jury to read the subconscious

mind of such defendant. Moreover, it also

facilitates the jury to take a reasoned, well

defined, appropriate, conscious, deliberate,

judicious and prudent decision.

As a matter of fact, in the recent case of a

known gangster that made headlines in the

criminal magazine, The ABC, it was only due to

the knowledge of modus operandi of the said

gangster in past records, that the jury overruled

the theory of reasonable doubt that was

illusioned by the advocate of the defendant.

In short, in my opinion, the jury must be made

aware of the past records to provide them the

opportunity to have a full 360-degree view of the

defendant, as a whole.