Jury tampering threatens defendants' rights to trial by jury
16/07/2009
Simon Russell Flint QC appeared as leading counsel for the Crown in the case of R v Twomey, Blake, Cameron & Hibberd [2009] EWCA 1035 which has broken new legal ground and attracted immense publicity. The decision of the Court of Appeal establishes that defendants can lose their right to trial by jury on the most serious charges when there is a real and present danger of jury tampering and when normal protective measures would be ineffective. The proceedings in the Court of Appeal can now be reported following the refusal of the defence application to appeal to the House of Lords.
Michael Austin-Smith QC appeared for the Defendant Hibberd.