A Jurat is a Lay Judge who sits with Commissioners/Bailiffs/Deputy Bailiffs/Judges in the Royal Court of Jersey. The Jurat's task is to judge on the facts of a case, need no legal training for the post, and are elected by an Electoral College consisting of Lawyers and politicians.
There is a train of thought that the Electoral College is no more than an "Old Boys Network" and the elections are just a formality in that the candidate who the Establishment want elected gets the post. Regular readers will be aware it is VFC's opinion that our "justice" system is politicised and corrupt and is in dire need of "a good clean out." How much of a role is played by Jurats is, as yet, unclear, due to the secretive nature of the election and indeed the candidates.
In what is believed to be a first for Jersey we (Citizens Media) have interviewed a candidate for the post. We are not aware of this ever having been done previously, either by Citizens Media, or the local State Media, and feel privileged to have been granted the interview and able to bring our readers another first and another exclusive.
Candidate Tim Kearsey is a down-to-earth 41 year-old working class man with a social conscience and a desire for reform. He is breaking the mould when it comes to the usual line-up of candidates who tend to be upper middle class (former Victoria College students) and pensioners or not far off pension age. He wants to engage the public with the role and make them aware of what it entails and what a great start he has made by engaging with Citizens Media...........Or any media.
For those who would like to learn more about the role of the Jurat, the Establishment line can be viewed HERE. If you want to learn more about the role, and the Jersey "justice" system in general we recommend readers/viewers take a look at what Sir Geoffrey Nice QC writes about it HERE.
Team Voice wish Candidate Kearsey the best of luck with his election campaign and thank him for taking the time out to engage with Citizens Media. Unfortunately we believe the chances of him being elected, and zero, are about the same. The election is a mere formality and the post has already been decided but nothing ventured nothing gained.