Juries

A solicitor sitting on a criminal jury has been jailed after researching a defendant online and sharing her findings with other jurors. Caroline Elizabeth Mitchell, whose actions led to the collapse of a child sexual abuse trial, has resigned from her position as an associate solicitor with Irwin Mi

Thousands more people will be called for jury service in Northern Ireland this year in anticipation of a greater number of applications for excusal or deferral because of the pandemic. Some 40,300 people will be called for jury service this year, a 16 per cent increase on the 34,700 called last year

Liam Herrick, executive director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), argues that the non-jury Special Criminal Court must be abolished. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has opposed the use of the Special Criminal Court since our foundation. The weakening of fair trial rights and us

Sinn Féin has softened its historic position of opposition to the Special Criminal Court, with members agreeing a new position that non-jury trials should only take place in "exceptional circumstances". The party has traditionally called for the non-jury court, established in the late 1930s t

Plans for jury service reforms including the introduction of juror expenses and the extension of eligibility to some non-citizens have effectively been shelved, according to reports. The working group on jury service, which was established in 2018 to consider recommendations made by the Law Reform C

A high-profile trial concerning evidence given to a Stormont committee about the Nama property scandal will be heard without a jury in an unprecedented step. Former Sinn Féin MLA Daithi McKay, Sinn Féin member Thomas O'Hara and loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson are facing a Crown Court tri

Juries should be cut from 12 members to seven in order to clear the Covid-19 backlog of criminal cases in England and Wales, Labour has said. The call follows a joint report from the police, prosecutors, prisons and probation inspectorates, which said the "unprecedented and very serious" backlog in

Jury trials and other courts and tribunals hearings will continue to be held following the imposition of new Covid-19 restrictions, Justice Minister Naomi Long has said. The Northern Ireland Executive has announced a significant tightening of public health restrictions for a six-week period starting

The claim that juries subscribe to rape myths and are biased against complainants has no basis in empirical fact, a new study has found. The work, undertaken by academics at University College London, is also informed by research that casts serious doubt on the value of mock juries as a proxy for re

The UK government has launched a public consultation on the continued use of non-jury trials in Northern Ireland until 2023. Under the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007, the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland can decide when a trial should take place without a jury.

Jury trials and other courts and tribunals business are continuing in Northern Ireland following the tightening of Covid-19 restrictions on Friday. Crown Court trials have resumed at six courthouse locations since August in the Laganside courts complex in Belfast and at Antrim, Craigavon, Newry, Col

Lawyers have welcomed an extension of jury trials to include a total of six court venues across Northern Ireland. Trials are now taking place in the Laganside Courts in Belfast as well as in Antrim, Craigavon, Newry, Coleraine and Dungannon Courthouses.

Jury trials have resumed in Northern Ireland for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 crisis in March. Following physical alternations to allow jury trials to take place in line with public health guidelines, a jury trial has begun in Laganside Court in Belfast, and five more Crown Court v

The Northern Ireland Executive should be "very slow to interfere" with the current 12-person jury in criminal trials in the face of the COVID-19 backlog, an experienced criminal lawyer has said. According to newspaper reports over the weekend, a reduction in the size of juries from 12 to seven or ni

Barristers in Northern Ireland have reportedly been told that the size of juries in criminal cases could be reduced from 12 to nine or seven members to help clear the COVID-19 backlog. The Office of the Lord Chief Justice, the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service, The Bar of Northern Irelan