First Criminal Legal Trial to be Held without a Jury

Thu, 18 Jun 2009

A Court of Appeal has ruled that a criminal trial may go ahead without a jury . The judge only case looks set to be the first of its kind in England and Wales in 400 years, after the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, along with two other judges in London, ratified the decision due to a fear of jury tampering .

Three trials have already been held at a cost of £22 million regarding the case, which relates to an armed raid on a warehouse at Heathrow in 2004, when robbers seized £1.75 million of the alleged £10 million targeted. However, the last trial, held in 2008, collapsed after ‘a serious attempt at jury tampering’.

Defence lawyers have objected to the decision, claiming to know nothing of the allegations of previous jury tampering, meaning the solicitors were unable to object.

The case will be the first Crown Court case in England and Wales that would normally be held with a jury to be heard by a judge alone, following the introduction of new legislation in 2003. A preliminary hearing will be held on July 10th, whilst no date or judge has been chosen for the trial as yet.
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