Judge & Jury?

jacg

No, he/she can't. The only way that this can be altered is if there is an appeal by the defendant perhaps because new evidence has come to light in his favour or where there has been some sort of procedural error, in which case there will be another trial.

The judge can direct the jury but cannot reverse any decision that they may make. The whole idea of the jury system is that it is a trial by your peers, not by the judge.

sharkinthewater

Yes. A trial court judge can grant a Judgement not withstanding the verdict (JNOV) if the verdict is contrary to law. (applies to verdicts of guilty only) Also, appeals courts (all judges) can overturn verdicts for a variety of reasons, and often do.

THE WISE MAN

i am not %100 sure, but i think yes

LYN W

Not in the same court. An application for leave to appeal can be made to the trial judge who can grant it in the first instance. The case is then referred for appeal in the court of appeal.

Wisdom

no, but a majority needs to be in agreement (i believe) otherwise the judge can post-pone the case until a satisfactory verdict is reached. There is always Appeal...

Jan

Don`t know for sure, although, don`t think so

ukcriminalbarrister

Okay, I assume that this question refers to England & Wales. If so, then the answer is no. A Crown Court Judge sitting with a jury has no power to overturn a verdict returned by it.

At the end of the Prosecution case, the defence can make submissions regarding the Prosecution case (in essence that it so weak that it ought not to be left to the jury) and the Judge can direct the jury to return not guilty verdicts on those counts. Note, that even this is a direction. A jury could decide to ignore the judge and return a guilty verdict however, this simply does not happen and the Court of Appeal would quash the conviction.

The only instance of a Judge being able to overturn a jury's verdict is the powers of the Court of Appeal. They can, if a defendant appeals against his conviction, quash that conviction (and possibly order a retrial), or substitute the jury's verdict (eg manslaughter instead of murder).

I'm afraid that suggestions that the Judge (the Crown Court Judge) can substitute a verdict on ground of national security, new evidence or proof of lies are simply incorrect. These are all matters that would have be consider by the Court of Appeal.

mummyzgall

yes i think????

tehabwa

I've seen this happen on Law & Order. I don't know whether they make stuff like that up, or use advice of experts.

Please leave this question up, as you're getting yes's and no's, but none so far seem to me to be authoritative.

Maybe someone who really knows what they're talking about will come along and answer.

cassie s

No, that is part of the system definately not. It is a jury of peers, the only way is if a case is at appeal and then it is just a different jury in a higher court!

Frodette Baggins

I don't think that a Judge can overturn the verdict made by a Jury, but he can direct them to a particular verdict.
The difference is that the Judge must direct the Jury before they make a decision. If they make a decision that he or she doesn't like then he cannot overturn it but I think that somewhere along the line a re-trial can be ordered.

rose_merrick

yes - their decision is final. Sometimes they have to, if they are given evidence at the last minute. They can order the jury to be changed to, I think - if they have been found to be given false information

Dave S

the judge can only overturn the verdict of a jury if they have been given information at the last minute, the information is of a snesitive nature and so cannot be released to a jury (eg. national security) or there has been proof of lying under oath. Then, and only then, can a judge overrule the jury and give his own verdict. Even then, he has to explain his decision to i believe the Home Secretary or else it is reversed and the original decision stands.

misspipik

yes and no ...if a jury decides not guilty the judge cannot decide the person is guilty. if the judge decides the person is innocent or the prosecution did not meet its burden of proof he will probably end the trial before it gets to a jury. not likely to happen but a judge can overturn a guilty verdict.

nadkins26

nope. The Jury is the final stage of a veredict.

lexo80

No. The judge is there to advise the jury, and quite often they can abuse this position by giving them biased advice or even bullying them, but they can't reject the jury's verdict. Thank God, or rather thank the legal system.

A verdict can, however, be overturned in a court of appeal.

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