Coronavirus: Juries to hear trials remotely from cinemas

Juries will hear trials remotely from cinemas under plans to stop a growing backlog of criminal cases.

The move will see the most serious criminal trials go ahead in courtrooms while a socially-distanced jury watches a video-link in a cinema.

The Lord Justice General Lord Carloway described the plan as "bold and imaginative".

But he warned of a "long term project" to clear the backlog of cases postponed due to Covid-19.

Lord Carloway said there were about 750 outstanding High Court and 1,800 Sheriff Court cases as a result of the courts being closed by the pandemic earlier this year.

He told BBC Scotland this "illustrates the seriousness of the position" and added that the "remote jury approach is the only practical way which has been identified to reduce that backlog."

High Court trials restarted last month in Edinburgh and Glasgow, having been paused during the pandemic.

Juries have been observing trials via a video link from another courtroom.

But moving the juries to watch cases from cinemas will free up increased space for more trials.

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) hope jury centres based in cinema complexes in the east and west of Scotland, with capacity for at least 16 juries, will be in place by the autumn.

Lady Dorrian, chairwoman of the restarting solemn trials working group, said: "The beauty of this solution is that it preserves the 15-person jury trial and will allow us, in time, to raise business in the High Court to a level that will start to address the growing backlog of cases.

"It was clear that the remote jury model does work and, if suitable external venues could be identified, it would be possible to run a much higher number of trials, making full use of the courtrooms we have available for the trials."

Eric McQueen, chief executive of the SCTS, said: "The great advantage of these remote jury centres is that they provide, in a single building, a number of spacious and soundproofed auditoria that can comfortably accommodate 15 physically-distanced jurors, combined with state-of-the-art secure technology.

"It also means we have a model that can be replicated at various sites around the country."

The cinemas used will be staffed by SCTS staff and made to look as much like a court as possible.

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said £5.5m of Scottish government money will fund the scheme, which he said was a "ground-breaking solution".

He added: "Our funding of this scheme not only allows serious criminal cases to proceed but also provides reassurance to victims, witnesses and accused who have been adversely affected by case delays."