Product Description

A discussion of what it is like to serve on a jury. Former newspaper editor Trevor Grove served as a juror in a major trial at the Old Bailey. Casting a wry eye on what went on during those four months, he not only tells the tale of a trial, but mounts a passionate defence of the jury system.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #73202 in Books
• Published on: 2000-01-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 286 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Every year in the United Kingdom, a quarter of a million people are summoned to do jury service. Some go reluctantly, some willingly, but all should be aware that they are taking part in a legal tradition that dates back to before Magna Carta.

Trevor Grove, formerly an editor of the Sunday Telegraph, was summoned to serve as a juror in a trial at the Old Bailey involving the kidnap of a Greek shipping magnate and a $3,000,000 ransom. But there were many doubts about whether the victim was really so innocent as he seemed.

The Juryman's Tale is a thrilling first-hand account of what it is like to serve on a jury in a major criminal trial, with all the twists and turns, shock and suspense of a John Grisham novel. But it also develops into a passionate defence of the jury system. Grove's defence is made all the stronger by his willingness to admit the imperfection of this very human institution: "Juries are clumsy, fallible, expensive and slow". But the greatest legal minds have always understood this, and still concluded that the jury is "the lamp that shows that freedom lives" (Lord Devlin); "the sacred bulwark of the nation" (Sir William Blackstone); "a peerless teacher of citizenship" (Alexis de Tocqueville). Grove's caustic and unarguable conclusion is that, at the very least, "Any Prime Minister who refers to The People as often as Tony Blair does ought to approach the jury box on bended knee". --Christopher Hart

Customer Reviews

A very interesting, thought-provoking book
Trevor Grove has written a fascinating book about serving on a jury for a long-running trial, even though he had to submit to the legal ruling that the deliberations in the jury room must never be divulged. You might think this would remove the whole point of the book, but the loss has been well balanced by the story of the trial itself, the verdict and subsequent events, and Mr Grove's wide-ranging collection of the opinions of informed bystanders. He makes useful comments about the way a jury should proceed, and anyone called to do jury service should definitely read this book.

Indispensable guide
This book will strike a chord with anyone who has ever done jury service, as well as providing an indispensable guide for anyone who is about to do so. It is also extremely entertaining, with a surprising number of laughs along the way.

fantastic book i couldn't put it down!
A really interesting account of the trial as described by the other reviewers, the name dropping I found unnecesary - being at Lord Archers party barely impressed me! Very funny in parts too when describing the defendants English - " Humphrey Baize" sprung to mind.

A good read.