Fatigue sets in as delays test patience of the jury

THE already lengthy highprofile trial was hindered by yet another delay as legal argument took up a hefty chunk of yesterday morning.

It had been hoped the jury would begin their deliberations after a final day of listening to Judge Patricia Smyth’s address to them, but the judge’s charge is now to run into another day due to the legal argument that arose.

The jury finally filed into courtroom 12 on the fourth floor of Belfast Crown Court at 11.27am and sat attentively, looking in the direction of Judge Smyth.

As the trial enters the ninth week – almost double the time it was expected to take – the toll of listening to the evidence for over two months appeared to be etched on the faces of the eight men and three women on the jury.

Although seeming weary, the jurors diligently listened to Judge Smyth, who continued her charge, which she had begun on Friday and originally hoped to finish yesterday.

Speaking slowly and deliberately, Judge Smyth looked over the glasses perched on her nose at the jurors and told them: ‘It is for you to decide where the truth lies.’

In the traditional black robe and wig, Judge Smyth meticulously brought the jurors through a review of the evidence, as they pored over the print-outs of her address they had been given, raising their heads occasionally to look towards the judge.

Ireland and Ulster teammates Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding, along with their friends Blane McIlroy and Rory Harrison, all dressed in sharp suits and crisp shirts, sat in the glass dock facing the judge.

Their parents, other family members and friends sat in the public gallery, occupying the front-row seats where they have been every day of the trial, some leaning forward, appearing to strain to hear every word the judge uttered.

THEY shared the glass room – which was not as full has it has previously been during the trial – with members of the public.

There was a sense of fatigue in the courtroom as the trial rumbled on into a ninth long week.

And a further delay with the jury returning after a break, due to another legal argument, did nothing to lift the tension in the air.

Judge Smyth will take centre stage to complete her charge to the jury today – and then the spotlight will be on the 11 jurors as they begin their deliberations.