In a claim aganst the police, it had become apparent that some parts of the trial would require the examination of detailed documents. The defendant appealed a refusal of its request for the matter to be heard without a jury.
Held: The Act and the Rules explicitly acknowledged the possibility of splitting a trial between jury and non-jury elements, but the judge had erred in his assessment by failing to recognise the different context of a civil as opposed to a criminal trial. In many cases, once it became clear that some issue would require judge alone trial, the rest of the trial should follow, for example issues of credibility of the same witness fell within both sections. A court should ask, would there be a prolonged examination of documents, could that be made by a jury, and if not should the court nevertheless use its discretion to order jury trial. The court should have ordered trial by judge alone.
Judges:
Phillips MR, Rix LJ, Scott Baker LJ
Citations:
Times 02-Apr-2003, [2003] EWCA Civ 382, Gazette 29-May-2003
Links:
Statutes:
Supreme Court Act 1981 69, Civil Procedure Rules
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Litigation Practice, Civil Procedure Rules
Updated: 07 June 2022; Ref: scu.180128