The UK criminal justice advocacy organisation JUSTICE is carrying out an academic evaluation of a fully virtual jury trial, in order to address the problems of all new trials being suspended. 

They have said that the resumption of jury trials in the UK is necessary to ensure justice for those remanded in prison and for victims awaiting trials, and to deal with the already significant backlog of cases, and that virtual trials may be the only solution during the current coronavirus pandemic. 

They have provided evidence to Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) about video hearings, and have conducted an independent study into the virtual trials by Oxford University. 

You can watch a clip from the virtual trial – apparently the first ever – here. 

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