The trial must go on: Reviewing recent appellate decisions to proceed with judge alone trials in jury tampering cases

This article reviews two Court of Appeal judgments on the issue of whether the trial judge was right to proceed to verdict on a judge alone basis after the jury had been discharged due to jury tampering. It begins by examining the contextual background to the introduction of ss.44-47 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 which allows for judge alone trials in jury tampering cases before considering the decisions in Mohammad and others v Islaam and R [2024] EWCA Crim 34 and Sartin v R [2024] EWCA Crim 764. It is argued that even though the decisions to proceed to judge alone trial were unfavourable to the defence in both cases, the decision-making process adopted by both trial judges and endorsed by the Court of Appeal aligned with procedural justice principles.