1 ‘Criminal cases are tried by jury’

There are many images associated with the criminal justice system. Some are symbols: for example, the scales of justice represent law as a whole.

Figure 2 The scales of justice

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Illustrative image of an old-fashioned set of balance scales with two pans hanging from either end of a horizontal beam.

Figure 2 The scales of justice

Activity 1 Symbols of criminal law

Timing: Allow 10 minutes

What symbols come to mind when you think of the criminal courts?

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Some popular symbols include:

• A pair of handcuffs
• A gavel
• Lady Justice (often holding scales and a sword)
• A barrister’s wig.

Figure 3 A gavel

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Illustrative image of a gavel – i.e. a small, wooden hammer – resting on a flat piece of wood. In the background, the scales of justice are visible.

Figure 3 A gavel

However, the gavel is never found in the courts of England and Wales.

Figure 4 Lady Justice above the Old Bailey

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Illustrative image of a gilded statute of a woman wearing a long robe and crown. In her right hand she holds an upraised sword. In her left hand she holds a set of balance scales.

Figure 4 Lady Justice above the Old Bailey

Does Lady Justice wear a blindfold? The most famous British statue of her, on top of the Old Bailey, does not.

Other images of the criminal justice system are more complex. For example, a criminal trial is often pictured as involving a red-robed judge, barristers in wigs and gowns, and a jury of 12 members of the public. This section will explore whether that picture of a criminal case being tried by a jury is the truth, a myth, or a mixture of myth and truth.