Under British and Australian laws a jury in a criminal case has no access to information about the defendant's past criminal record. This protects the person who is being accused of the crime. Some lawyers have suggested that this practice should be changed and that a jury should be given all the past facts before they reach their decision about the case. Do you agree or disagree?

In other to reach an unbiased judgement and ensure the protection of a

defendant

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, British and Australian laws restrict a

jury

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's access to the accused's

records

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in a criminal

case

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.

However

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, several lawyers are proposing an amendment to

this

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law so that a

jury

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has rights to the

defendants

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past criminal

records

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. In my opinion, I agree with the proposal, a

jury

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should be able to review a

defendant

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's

records

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before meting out their judgement.

To begin

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with, concerning the argument about a biased judgement,

this

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may be possible if the

jury

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is an individual alone or if it comprises of only a particular gender, age group, race or religion.

This

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however

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is not the

case

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as a standard

jury

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is diverse, with at least 10 or 12 qualified jurors of both genders and more than one age group who are required by the law to put aside their racial or religious differences during a trial.

Therefore

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, it is unlikely that all members of the

jury

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will become biased after viewing the

defendant

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's

records

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, or that the

jury

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will give a verdict based on the bias of 2 or 3 jurors.

Furthermore

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, I believe that for the appropriate verdict to be given, the nature of the offence

in addition

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to whether or not the offender is a

first

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-timer or a repeat offender should be taken into consideration. Since the

case

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is a criminal

case

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, it is likely that the crime in question may have caused death or harm to a

third

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party, damage to property or the state and would require a heavy

punishment

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.

However

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, if the

defendant

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is a

first

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-timer, the

punishment

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may be relatively lighter (all things being equal) than what a repeat offender will receive, and the

jury

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needs to have

this

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information in other to give the

punishment

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of deserving weight.

For instance

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, it will be inadequate and a bit unfair to ask a repeat shoplifter to simply pay a fine (which is more appropriate for a

first

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-timer) when they deserve jail time. But

this

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may be the

case

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if the

jury

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is kept in the dark with regards to the record.

Also

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, looking through a

defendant

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's record may bring to light certain things relating to the current

case

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that

otherwise

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may have been overlooked.

For instance

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, after analyzing the

defendants

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criminal record, it may become evident that they require some psychological or psychiatric intervention, based on the nature and pattern of the previous and current crimes. With

this

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information, the verdict can be tailored to deliver not just judicatory

punishment

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but

also

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a solution to their mental health illness in form of rehabilitation, counselling or where necessary placed on appropriate medication. In conclusion, even though there may be concerns about a

jury

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dishing out biased verdicts to

defendants

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after going through their

records

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, revealing these

records

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indeed has more advantages as it makes room for not just the most appropriate weighted punishments, as in the

case

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of repeat offenders, as well as factoring in other forms of help and rehabilitation for

defendants

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who may need it.