Jury system is cleared of racial prejudice

Juries have been cleared of the charge of racism by a major inquiry into the courts system.

The four-year, £235,000 study rejected long-running allegations from senior judges and race campaigners that verdicts can be biased against black defendants.

It found that jurors of any race can sometimes be more lenient to those from the same ethnic background.

But these prejudices made no difference to the final verdicts, said the study.

The Ministry of Justice report also dismissed the claim that there are too few ethnic minority jurors.

After publishing the study, the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, said: 'This study goes a long way towards dispelling myths about how juries operate and will help to maintain and sustain public confidence.

"This makes it absolutely clear that the courts are not racist in the way they deal with cases."

The report, produced by Professor Cheryl Thomas of University College, London, was based on a survey of nearly 16,000 jurors serving over a four-week period at three crown courts.

The report also put paid to the myth that the middle classes are more likely to shun jury service.

It found instead that middle to upper income earners had the highest participation rates.