It seems that for the first time since the Star Chamber in the 17th century, four people have been convicted in a criminal trial in England without a jury.
I was concerned when the law was changed to permit this and am even more concerned now. There are stories of the men having tried to corrupt several juries, but I think we should make certain that the police did all they could to prevent this. I cannot for the life of me see why 12 people cannot be protected and their identities concealed.
Trial by jury, begun by Magna Carta in 1215 is our protection against arbitrary prosecution by the state. We as citizens would be making a grave error if we allowed this right to be chipped away on some spurious grounds of expediency.
I suspect that this case was merely a matter of money - the cost of protecting the jury - and that is wrong. This principle is more important than money.
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