The Court of Appeal has ruled that a criminal trial can take place at Crown Court without a jury for the first time in England and Wales. Uh-oh. It was explicitly laid out in the Magna Carta, pretty much the foundation of English law, that no man shall be imprisoned without first facing a jury of his peers. That was in 1215, and it’s served us pretty damned well for nearly a thousand years. It’s one of the main, unmovable pillars of English law, and so much is based on it. To think that it can be simply ignored is mind-boggling. And for what reason? Lord Judge told the court the cost of the measures needed to protect jurors from potential influence, such as the services of police officers, was too high and that such measures may not properly insulate them. Costs. Fucking costs and expenses. That is a fucking joke. Why is it that now we are worried about the costs? These kinds of trials have happened for centuries. We have witness protection programmes, and all manner of other expensive parts of the justice system, and these are all still maintained. Are we really going to dump 1000 years of legal principle, and a major, major part of the rule of law, just to save a few quid?! And surely we’ve dealt with these kinds of trials in the past? Hell, London was a cesspit of gang crime in the 50s and 60s, yet they managed to convict people through the use of juries. Intimidation was no doubt just as rife as it potentially would be in this case. I am genuinely aghast at this piece of news, I really am. I studied law at university, and the jury trial is one of the absolute centrepieces of the whole damned system. I sincerely hope that the law lords swiftly overturn this ruling.
BBC News | First trial without jury approved
