Justice by the dozen
QUESTION When and why was it decided there should be 12 members of a jury panel? The 12-strong jury is not a universal rule. In civil cases, seven people make up the jury and at coroners’ inquests, there are between seven and 11 jurors. In the U.S., certain cases can require a grand jury of up to 23 people. however, the 12-strong jury is the historical standard and remains the case in criminal courts.
It is held to have biblical and structural precedent based on the 12 Apostles of Jesus. evidence from the ancient Welsh Iolo manuscripts suggests the system began with Morgan, King of Glamorgan (AD725), of whom it was reported:
‘he made a law that all men who had lawsuits and quarrels should, before they try them by the law of the land, refer the matter to 12 pious merciful men and the King to be their director.’
In AD 997, Aethelred’s Wantage Code mentioned a system involving judgment by 12: ‘And let them swear on holy relics, which shall be placed in their hands, that they will never knowingly accuse an innocent man nor conceal a guilty man.’
At that time, the words jury and juror were not yet used. The words used at that time were ‘group’ and ‘compurgators’.
From 1066, William I followed a form of Glamorgan’s system by creating groups of 12 men to assess exact ownership of lands, taxes and to settle civil issues. In the reign of henry II (1154-89), groups of 12 ‘good and lawful men’ were used to assess criminal and civil matters.
By the time of King John, the Magna Carta decreed: ‘All evil customs concerning forests and warrens, and concerning foresters and warreners, sheriffs and their servants, river banks and their guardians, shall straightaway be inquired into each county, through 12 sworn knights from that county, and shall be eradicated by them, entirely, so that they shall never be renewed, within 40 days after the inquest has been made; in such manner that we shall first know about them or our justice if we be not in england.’
By 1219, the term jury was being used (from the Latin jurati, to be sworn). Initially called to decide land cases, they also began to hear criminal cases. The first jurors were like witnesses, telling the judge what they knew about the case; these courts were known as an ‘assize’ (from the Latin assideo, to sit together). By the 14th century, jurors had become the deciders of fact.
Louise Westwood, Birmingham.
QUESTION Flying over central Spain, I saw lots of round fields. Different sizes, different colours, some green, some brown, but all perfectly circular. What is the reason for them?
In 1940, The U.S. farmer Frank Zybach invented a system for irrigating crops that rotated around a central pivot which, in turn, created circular fields.
he used it to irrigate his cotton fields during drought. The system is called centre pivot irrigation, but is sometimes known as waterwheel or circle irrigation.
Long tubular metal structures supported by wheels are connected to a central pivot to provide a rotating sprinkler.
The circle’s radius can vary from a single span of a few feet to multiple spans with radii of up to 1,600ft (500m).
That is a field diameter of one kilometre, which is why they can be seen from aircraft. Seen when the water is turned off, the spans appear like a series of lattice bridges connected end to end.
To prevent scarce water being extracted from rivers or reservoirs, the systems often use water pumped from underground through bore holes. Once the bore hole water is exhausted, time must be allowed for it to be replenished by the rain.
To allow this, the fields are left fallow and the contraption moved to a new field. This creates the brown fields that can be observed, where the imprint of the field can still be seen from the air.
The type of crop varies. It can be anything from grain crops to potatoes and root vegetables. When this type of irrigation system is used in areas of low summer rainfall, it can produce two and sometimes three crops a year, making it well worth the investment.
Bob Dillon, Edinburgh.
QUESTION Is Trigger’s Rodney/Dave joke the longest in TV sitcom history?
FURTHER to the earlier answer, having been given the name rodney by my parents, I am now known as roe.
The name rodney haunted me for years. When I joined the fire service, I was quickly given the nickname of Dave.
Only Fools And horses also followed me to my fire service officers’ course. When I picked up my ID pass at reception, guess what name was on it? rooney!
It was in honour of the chunky ID bracelet that Del Boy got rodney for his birthday in the 1996 Christmas special, where he tries to claim ‘ rooney’ is ‘rodney’ in copperplate writing.
If I had a pound for every time I have heard Del Boy’s catchphrase ‘what a 42carat plonker you are!’, I’d be a rich man.
Roe Sprack, Ryde, Isle of Wight.
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