Trials called off after jurors fail to show up

CRIMINAL trials are being postponed due to hundreds of members of the public not showing up when summoned for jury duty, a court has heard.

Both in Aberdeen and Glasgow, more than 600 members of the public were cited for possible selection on a jury as solemn trials resumed under new coronavirus protection measures earlier this month.

But lawyers say of the hundreds told to turn up – out of which a selected few will be randomly panelled to be on the jury – only a few dozen appeared. In one case, in Aberdeen, this led to a trial being put off as the numbers were insufficient.

Instead of juries sitting in the courtroom – as was normal practice pre-coronavirus – a nearby cinema has been repurposed to allow for social distancing.

Cameras and microphones have been set up around the court and in the cinema to allow juries and the court officials and solicitors to conduct trials after nearly a yearlong hiatus due to the pandemic. But the Vue Cinema in the city’s Shiprow was sitting empty after Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that ‘maybe 30’ of the 250 people cited turned up.

Sandy Mundie, 34, of, Aberdeen, was due to go on trial for assault and possession of a knife last week. But defence agent Mike Monro told the court: ‘A total of 250 jurors were cited, of which we only had 29, maybe 30 attending.’

Mr Monro, of solicitors Mackie & Dewar, said a colleague had encountered similar difficulties in Glasgow, where only 40 jurors turned up out of 400 cited.

He added: ‘It’s absolutely astonishing. We’re sitting here, ready to start a trial, with an empty remote jury centre. Despite the best endeavours of the new set-up, unless the public help us out by coming to court in accordance with their jury citations, we are going to be in this situation.’

Gregor Kelly, partner at LeFevre Litigation in Aberdeen, said: ‘Jurors perform an invaluable function in our justice system and it is essential they attend when asked to do so.’