Juries Act 1927 (SA)

South Australia

Juries Act 1927

An Act to provide for the constitution, powers and duties of juries in relation to criminal trials; and for other purposes.

The Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows:

This Act may be cited as the Juries Act 1927.

1. (1)

   In this Act, unless inconsistent with the context or some other meaning is clearly intended—

civil trial means the trial of an action, or any issue arising in or in relation to an action, before a court exercising civil jurisdiction;

criminal trial means the trial of an indictable offence or of an issue arising in or in relation to the trial of an indictable offence before a court exercising criminal jurisdiction;

sheriff includes deputy sheriff and any other person for the time being performing the functions of the sheriff under this Act;

subdivision means subdivision of any electoral district for the purpose of electing members of the House of Assembly.

No civil trial is to be held before a jury.

1. (1)

   A criminal trial in the Supreme Court or the District Court is, subject to this Act, to be by jury.

2. (2)

   The jury is, subject to this Act, to consist of 12 persons qualified and liable to serve as jurors.

1. (1)

   If the court thinks there are good reasons for doing so, the court may order that an additional juror, or 2 or 3 additional jurors, be empanelled for a criminal trial.

2. (2)

   If an additional juror or additional jurors have been empanelled and, when the jury is about to retire to consider its verdict, or to consider whether to return a verdict without hearing further evidence, the jury consists of more than 12 jurors, a ballot will be held to exclude from the jury sufficient jurors to reduce the number of the jury to 12.

3. (3)

   If a juror or jurors are excluded from the jury under subsection (2), the court will either—

   1. (a)

      discharge them from further service as jurors for the trial; or

   2. (b)

      if a number of separate issues are to be decided separately by the jury—direct that they rejoin the jury when the issue in relation to which they have been excluded from the jury has been decided; or

   3. (c)

      if the jury is retiring to consider whether or not to return a verdict without hearing further evidence—direct that they rejoin the jury in the event that the jury decides that it wishes to hear further evidence before returning a verdict.

4. (4)

   If a jury has chosen one of its members to speak on behalf of the jury as a whole, that juror is not subject to exclusion by ballot under subsection (2).

1. (1)

   Subject to this section, where, in a criminal trial before the Supreme Court…