Why the reasonable should doubt jury competence

It is time to subject our flawed jury system to impartial judgment, writes Paul O’Brien.

THE statistic was staggering. Some 43% of the jurors said they had failed to grasp everything that had gone on in the courtroom.

Legal terminology was one problem. Alarmingly, a number of jurors made reference specifically to the term "beyond reasonable doubt", which they found "confusing".