‘Super court’ opens to hear trials with several defendants
This new super courtroom will be an important asset as we start to reduce the backlog.
Dominic Raab.
THE Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has confirmed that a second “super courtroom” to hear gang trials involving large numbers of defendants, has opened in Loughborough.
The first of its kind opened in Manchester in September and £2.7 million has been spent on revamping Loughborough Magistrates’ Court for these trials.
A space has been created that is three times the size of a normal courtroom and will be used for cases such as county lines drug trafficking, murders and money laundering.
Trials that require this level of space – known as multi-handers if they involve three or more defendants – have built up during the pandemic due to social distancing restrictions.
According to the MoJ, multi-handers accounted for almost a fifth of all trials waiting to be heard in mid-October. This is the second of 71 buildings that the MoJ plans to modify to hold such trials.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said: “This new super courtroom will be an important asset as we start to reduce the backlog. “It will free up space elsewhere in our court estate – allowing us to hear up to 250 extra cases every year.”