Linguistic Disadvantage in Jury Trials

Eva Ng’s groundbreaking work delves into post-colonial Hong Kong courtrooms, where jury service is exclusive to well-educated individuals deemed capable of understanding English proceedings. Using authentic audio recordings of two jury trials to assess jurors’ comprehension, Ng highlights the challenges faced by Chinese jurors, who labour under the double disadvantage of unfamiliarity with legal discourse and insufficient proficiency in the English language used by the court. Ng’s study goes …