Challenging a Potential Juror for Cause: Resuscitation or Requiem?

The use of juries in civil cases is severely circumscribed in Australia, and only a small percentage of criminal cases are decided by juries.* 1 This percentage, while small, is significant. Only the most serious criminal cases are tried before a jury,2 and it is such cases that tend to generate the greatest amount of public interest. Consequently, “[ljegal ideology and popular commonsense images of the operation of the criminal justice system derive overwhelmingly from jury trial in higher criminal courts”.3 As there is no reason to believe that a trial by jury in serious criminal cases will be abolished,4 it follows that improvements made to the operation of the jury system should serve to increase the level of public confidence in the administration of justice.5 In theory, challenges for cause facilitate the selection of a jury that is both impartial and representative of the wider community. In Australia, challenges for cause must be exercised in the absence of any relevant information to support the