Issue 144  30th May 2020

One of the first socially-distanced jury trials went ‘like a Swiss watch’ this week, according to counsel, with lawyers sitting in the jury box and court documents quarantined for 72 hours.

A three-day assault case heard at Warwick Crown Court was among the first criminal trials to re-start since restrictions were eased earlier this month. To facilitate social distancing, jurors sat on the benches usually occupied by barristers and instructing solicitors, while lawyers sat in the jury box. Hand sanitiser was widely available; one-way systems were in place throughout the building; and jurors arrived at staggered times to avoid queueing. Meanwhile, robing rooms were limited to eight people and court users were invited to rehearse the safety measures before the trial began.

Jury trials have now restarted in Reading, Warwick, Winchester, Manchester Minshull Street, Bristol, Cardiff and the Old Bailey. More court centres are expected to open in the coming weeks.

"Mob justice" could increase in England and Wales unless more money is made available to clear the backlog of court cases swollen by coronavirus, the government has been warned. Richard Atkinson, of the Law Society, said a fall in legal aid payments meant thousands of lawyers risked going bust.This could further delay trials, with vigilantes stepping in, he claimed.

The backlog in Crown Court cases in England and Wales was 37,434 at the end of last year and the Law Society, which represents solicitors, estimates the number has risen considerably during the coronavirus crisis. Mr Atkinson, co-chairman of the organisation's criminal law committee, said that, with most proceedings halted, the lack of legal aid payments to solicitors' firms - and barristers - meant many risked going out of business. A shortage of experienced practitioners would further delay trials, he added.

Police are “retreating” from lockdown enforcement and will now only break up large gatherings. The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) have told ministers that most lockdown issues are now a “personal and moral responsibility” rather than a policing issue, The Times has learnt.

Kathryn Holloway, the Conservative Bedfordshire police and crime commissioner and APCC spokeswoman for civil contingencies, wrote to fellow commissioners on Tuesday and said the government had accepted that police had “retreated” to engaging, explaining and encouraging rather than enforcing the lockdown.

An abused woman who won an appeal after killing her controlling husband with a hammer can inherit his estate, a judge has ruled. Sally Challen, 65, was found guilty of murdering 61-year-old Richard in Surrey and jailed for life in 2011. She was freed after her conviction was quashed in February last year and prosecutors later accepted her manslaughter plea.

Judge Paul Matthews has now ruled that Mrs Challen can inherit his estate. He concluded that a rule barring people who kill from inheriting their victim's estate should be waived in Mrs Challen's case.