Embracery facts for kids

Embracery was an old legal term for trying to unfairly influence a juror (a person on a jury) to make a decision in a court case. This could happen by offering promises, using persuasion, giving money, or even providing entertainment. The goal was always to make the jury decide in favor of one side over the other.

What is Embracery?

Embracery was about trying to mess with a trial by influencing the jury. Imagine a group of people (the jury) who are supposed to listen to all the facts and decide if someone is guilty or innocent. Embracery was when someone tried to secretly or dishonestly convince a juror to choose a certain side, instead of letting them make a fair decision based on the evidence.

Why was it a problem?

The idea behind a jury trial is that a group of ordinary citizens will make a fair and unbiased decision. If someone tries to influence them with gifts, threats, or promises, it stops the trial from being fair. This is why embracery was considered a serious offense.

Embracery in History

In English law, embracery was a crime for a very long time. It was against both the traditional "common law" (laws based on old customs and court decisions) and written laws passed by Parliament. People found guilty of embracery could face fines or even imprisonment.

When did it start?

This crime has a long history, dating back to at least 1360 in England. It didn't matter if the jury actually changed their decision or if their final decision was correct; just the act of trying to influence them was enough to be guilty of embracery. Both the person trying to influence the jury and any juror who agreed to be influenced could be punished.

Where did the word come from?

The word "embracery" comes from an old French word, embraseour, which meant someone who "sets on fire" or "instigates." It's interesting because it's not related to the common word "embrace," which means to hug someone.

How did juries become independent?

For a long time, if a jury made a decision that judges thought was wrong, the jurors themselves could be punished. This changed in 1670 with a famous case called Bushel's Case. In this case, a court decided that jurors could not be punished for their verdict. This was a very important step in making sure juries could make decisions freely, without fear of punishment. Even after this, a law in 1825 (the Juries Act 1825) still kept embracery as a crime, showing how serious it was to protect the jury system.

Embracery Today

By the 2000s, the crime of embracery was considered very old-fashioned in the United Kingdom. If someone tried to influence a jury today, they would likely be charged with a more modern crime called "perverting the course of justice." This means interfering with how justice is carried out.

When was it abolished?

The last time someone was convicted of embracery in the UK was in 1975, but that conviction was later overturned because a judge said the crime was "obsolete" (no longer in use). Finally, embracery was officially removed from the law in the UK on July 1, 2011, by the Bribery Act 2010.

What about other countries?

While it's gone in the UK, embracery has been prosecuted more recently in other places. For example, in the United States, there was a case in 1989 where a local official in Georgia was punished for embracery. This shows that the idea of protecting juries from unfair influence is still very important, even if the specific old term "embracery" is no longer used everywhere.

See also

• Jury tampering