@CIOL_Linguists
AUTUMN 2023 The Linguist 33
OPINION & COMMENT
What happens when a person with limited
abilities in English is called for jury duty? It is
a question I have pondered since my partner
became a British citizen and I realised that
she could be summoned to serve at any
point. Although she can communicate well
enough in conversational English – and was
able to pass the language requirements for
citizenship – she certainly wouldn't be able to
follow all of the proceedings in a UK court
setting. Were she to sit on a jury, this could
potentially render the verdict unsound.
I hoped that anyone without sufficient
knowledge of English would automatically be
exempt, but I knew very little about the
process, never having stepped foot inside a
court building. That changed earlier this year
when my summons arrived in the post. An
explanatory leaflet listed the 'exceptional
circumstances' that may excuse an individual
What happens when a juror doesn't speak English? A peek
at a flawed system and what it means for justice in the UK
The secret juror
from jury service, including serious illness and
being a full-time carer or new parent. None
of them related to the ability to understand
the language of the court.
Indeed, the only mention of language
support was for speakers of British Sign
Language, who are entitled to an interpreter,
and speakers of Welsh, who can access the
documentation in Welsh. Nevertheless, the
list is not exhaustive and I imagined that if a
person were to raise concerns about their level
of English they would be let off. What was less
clear was whether an individual would
consider their lack of fluency to be a legitimate
reason since it wasn't given as an example.
My experience at the court suggests not.
Going to court
Situated in a diverse area of east London,
Snaresbrook Crown Court is the biggest crown
court in the UK. As I arrived at the main
building another first-time juror approached
me to ask how long she would have to stay,
as she was anxious to get back to work. She
was Polish and it quickly became clear that
her English was not fluent enough to follow a
complex trial. I suggested that she tell the
court officers about her language abilities
and that she would probably be excused.
Inside, the waiting rooms bustled with
nearly 200 jurors, an overhead announcement
reminding us to sign in if we had not already
done so. The Polish woman I had spoken to
earlier joined the queue, but when she
reached the desk it turned out she had already
registered. Although she had misunderstood
this simple instruction, the clerks raised no
concerns. I approached her again to
recommend that she flag her comprehension
difficulties, but then my case was called
©
SHUTTERSTOCK
