ABSTRACT
Jury research in the United Kingdom did not come to an end with the passage of section 8 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, but it certainly became more difficult. Questionnaire research has been undertaken in Northern Ireland on the treatment of jurors during trial and on defendants' perceptions of fairness of treatment in jury trials, and on a large scale for the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice on such matters as comprehension of evidence and summing up. Professional lawyers are aware of the potential for comment on their efforts on behalf of their clients in the privacy of the jury room. It is difficult to disentangle the evaluation of evidence from those leading it as much as from those giving it. There is also the potential for jury comment on courtroom tactics and their effectiveness. Both of these types of comment occurred in considering Margherita.
