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I'm not a lawyer either but I have a little exposure to the legal system (as commercial law was one of my majors)
The whole principle of trial by jury is that consists of a jury made of a cross-section of the community. Ordinary citizens like Mr T (who is by no means ordinary) are provided evidence often of extraordinary events and given the task to judge them in terms of the charges.
Trial by jury is by no means perfect - the prejudices of the jury and of society can lead to miscarriages of justice which is why we retain an appeal system.
The interaction of ordinary citizens provides an impartial voice to the proceedings of the court and legal system. This is considered to be an important component of a open and just legal system.
However, to answer your question - a jury consists of ordinary citizens but cases to appelate courts such as the Court of Appeal and the Privy Council (in the NZ Legal System anyway) are presided by judges. In particularly important cases, a full bench of the Court of Appeal (ie all the judges in this court) may preside on the case - whereas in other cases, only one Appeal Court judge may preside.
Judges are appointed by the Chief Justice (who is currently Sian Elias)under the advice of the legal profession.
Finally the Privy Council is based in Britain and consists of members of the House of Lords (The highest appelate court in the UK) and other selected judges/legal professionals from around the Commonwealth.
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