On most days the 6PM news covers at least one court case that is gripping the nation. We often wonder if the prosecution and lawyers are not overly complicating the obvious crime. But rarely do we envy the jury members for the difficult decision they have to make.
Dice is a new novel, set in Rotorua, by Claire Baylis. Four teenage boys, the Dice Bros, have invented a sex game based on the toss of a dice. They are now in court charged with multiple sexual offences against three teenage girls. The story is told through the eyes of each juror as the trial unfolds. We learn what skills and baggage the jurors bring to the jury room. You realise that getting a consensus in a group that is so diverse in age, background and values will be a challenge.
As a reader you are also in the juror’s seat. When the prosecutor who acts on behalf of the Crown explains what (allegedly) happened and when the girls themselves give evidence, most readers will feel empathy for the girls, who (allegedly) never gave consent to the sexual acts. Or do the lawyers for the four boys, the defendants, have a point that maybe the girls were just after revenge because the boys were not interested in long-term relationships? And wouldn’t the girls have screamed or come forward immediately after the assaults?
The author knows her stuff. Claire Baylis was a legal academic at the university in Wellington and worked as a jury researcher in Rotorua. This gave her an exclusive insight in the thought processes of real jury members.
I learned much about the jury system and even more about the complexities of sexual violence accusations and how sexual violence is viewed in our society. The beauty of fiction is that we can explore the accusations from many different angles. A bonus of the novel is that the book finishes with what really happened to one of the girls, not a luxury we have in real life. This is a compelling, well written book that will have more impact than many ‘factual’ articles on the same topic.
Wilma
