The defendant appealed his conviction, complaining that the judge had too closely controlled the length of the trial.
Held: It is part of the judge’s duty of case management to be alert to the interests of all the parties, including, but not limited to the defendant. Adjournments have to be justified, and the decision is for the discretion of the trial judge. The Court of Appeal must not interfere with the choices made, unless the refusal was wholly unreasonable and caused real prejudice. In this case, the request for further time had been to allow speculative investigations. The right to a fair trial is not inconsistent with a judge’s right to control the time allocated.
Judges:
Judge LJ, Grigson J, Stephens QC
Citations:
Times 09-May-2003
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Criminal Practice
Updated: 06 May 2022; Ref: scu.182172