Judging juries

There have been recent calls for major changes to our jury system in a number of states. Such calls for reform are not new, and tend to occur whenever there has been a high-profile controversial jury decision. One recent example was the trial of Pauline Hanson and David Ettridge in Queensland on charges of electoral fraud. The jury in that case handed down a guilty verdict and the pair was sentenced to three years imprisonment. However, within two months the Queensland Court of Appeal overturned that verdict, quashed the original convictions and the pair were set free.