DISCHARGED: judge orders retrial after solicitor overhears juror talking about case on train



The sharp ears of a commuting solicitor led to a trial being abandoned because the jury appeared to have pre-judged the case, the Gazette has learned.



The defendants were being tried at Manchester Crown Court, where they had pleaded not guilty to a charge of robbery.



The solicitors' firm for one of the defendants was Robert Lizar, where Evan Pritchard was at that time a trainee (he has since qualified). On the final morning of the four-day trial - before the defence had finished putting its case and before the summing-up - Mr Pritchard received a telephone call from Lindsey Bartling, a solicitor at Maidments, which was not connected to the case.



Ms Bartling said that, travelling home from work on the train, she had overheard a man talking on his mobile telephone about the case. It became apparent to her that he was a juror and, contrary to what he had been warned against, was discussing the evidence with a third party. He even went so far as to say, in plain hearing of a carriage full of commuters, that the jury had already decided to find the defendants guilty. She later worked out what case was being referred to and identified the solicitors involved.



Mr Pritchard promptly rang counsel, Farrhat Arshad of Garden Court North. She urged him to summon Ms Bartling to the court without delay. Ms Arshad said: 'This was so serious that we knew the judge would insist on hearing directly from Lindsey Bartling herself, rather than relying simply on hearsay.'



The courtroom was cleared and Ms Bartling, who had qualified only days before, stood in the witness box while the judge questioned her. She told the Gazette it had been 'the most dramatic moment' of her career to date.



Nobody disputed what she reported and the jury was instantly discharged, although not before the judge pointed out to them that one of their number had caused unnecessary inconvenience and distress to the alleged victim and two defendants, and wasted a considerable sum of public money. He ordered a retrial.



Ms Bartling said the judge later praised her for upholding the highest standards of her profession.



At the retrial, the two defendants changed their plea to guilty and received non-custodial sentences.



Jonathan Rayner