Jury in Jack de Belin rape trial dismissed
The jury in Jack de Belin’s sexual assault trial has been dismissed an hour after they were empanelled because a juror wanted more money.
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The jury in Jack de Belin’s sexual assault trial was dismissed an hour after they were empanelled because a juror said he could not live off the daily allowance.
The juror wrote a letter to the District Court during the morning break to say he would not be able to live off the $106 a day offered by the state government.
The casually employed person was worried they would be unable to afford rent.
Under federal law, casual employees undertaking jury duty are not legally required to be paid by their employer.
Full-time and part-time employees legally have to be paid for the first 10 days of service, according to the Fair Work Act 2009.
In NSW, a jury member receives $106.30 government allowance per day for the first 11 days and $247.40 each day after.
They also receive 30.7 cents per kilometre to travel to and from court.
The juror in de Belin’s trial could have applied to be excused before the court date by proving it would cause them “undue hardship” or a “serious inconvenience”.
Or they could have asked the sheriffs upon arriving at court on Tuesday and the judge prior to the empanelment.
But high profile Sydney criminal lawyer Elias Tabchouri told The Daily Telegraph we could not have a percentage of the population excluded from jury duty due to their financial circumstances.
“This case today has brought to light there is a hole in the system,” Mr Tabchouri said.
“We live in an age now where a number of our population is casually employed. They should not be precluded from jury duty. We can not accept people to be placed in a position where they are financially impacted to a degree where they can not support their family or themselves in the course of acting as a juror.”
Mr Tabchouri said the allowance was there to supplement what was paid by an employer.
“Clearly $106 a day is not enough to live on and well below the minimum rate,” he said.
“Those who are not being supplemented by an employer must be compensated in a different fashion to those who are. The objection raised by this juror not only has merit but will play a significant impact moving forward.”
Anyone on the NSW electoral roll could be randomly selected to serve on a jury, including unemployed people.
For jurors worried about their jobs, employers are prohibited from sacking an employee or asking staff to make up work hours.
The St George Illawarra star forward, de Belin, and his friend Callan Sinclair have pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman after a Christmas pub crawl in 2018.
Both men maintain their sexual encounter with her was consensual.
A new group of potential jurors will be assessed on Wednesday for their suitability in the three-week trial.
Judge Nicole Noman SC told the court it was a “most unfortunate circumstance” having to empanel 12 new jurors.
“We can discharge this jury and bring in a new jury as soon as possible,” she told the court, which included a cohort of family members and media.
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