The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales has ruled that a trial can take place without a jury for the first time.
The trial in question is for an armed robbery at Heathrow Airport which will be heard for a fourth time because of alleged jury tampering. It was because of the jury tampering that Lord Judge ruled the trial can be held without a jury.
Whilst it is important for the defendents to be tried for their alleged crimes, to do so without a jury is unconstitutional. If the defendents are interfering with the jury and their trials are being abandoned then they will simply spend longer in prison until a fair trial can be held.
This ruling sets a dangerous precedent. How long will it be before the British government uses this ruling in “terrorism” cases? They already have people under house arrest or subject to curfew and tagging orders after they’ve been found innocent by a jury on the orders of the Home Secretary, how long will it be before the constitutional right to a trial by jury is swept aside and kangaroo courts are set up with secret trials?
There is a reason why we have jury trials and open courts. The jury consists of laymen who consider the evidence and give their opinion on whether they think the evidence is good enough for a reasonable person to believe the accused has done what they’re accused of and whether it is wrong while open courts allow members of the public to see that justice is being done and that nobody is being deprived of their liberty or otherwise pubished without just cause.
Technorati Tags: Constitution, Jury Trial, Police State
It’s not unconstitutional, though it should be. They enacted a specific exception to the right to jury trial in cases where there is a risk of tampering (bribery or intimidation of jurors). When they have had a few “successful” jury-free trials (remembering that a conviction – regardless of guilt – is this government’s definition of “success”) they will start to extend the exception until trial by jury has gone, and English civilisation with it.
They did pass the Fraud (Trial Without Jury) Act which provides for serious fraud cases to be heard without a jury. The excuse for this was that long cases are disruptive to jurors. However, the Fraud (Trial Without Jury) Act didn’t repeal Magna Carta and as per the “Metric Martyrs” case, constitutional laws cannot be repealed by implication meaning Magna Carta takes precedence and trials without a jury are unconstitutional and illegal.
Just as an aside. Have you ever been on jury service? I have, twice. It’s quite an eye opener!!!!!!!!!
Saw this. Next step in the procedure.
Just saw Tom’s legal comment. This was not the import of 1215 and the 2004 Act does not overturn that import. This is especially so the way this has been promulgated.
[…] find the prospect of British politicians who have introduced such legislative abominations as the abolition of trial by jury, the EU arrest warrant, internment and arbitrary house arrest amending and repealing our […]
Anyone who is sent to prison after being denied his or her inalienable right to “put themselves upon their country” and have a trial by Jury. Is suffering “unlawful imprisonment” at the hands of factionist criminals who think their stinking political party is greater than the country. The day will come when these stinking little creatures and their quisling judges will have a taste of their own medacine. To be arrested, tortured, tried without a jury and put to death as the stinking little traitors they are. That day can not come quick enough, the grin will be wiped from their stinking little criminal faces. Who do these factionist scumbags think they are? Long live Magna Carta.