Was this the largest public gallery ever at a civil case in England and Wales? Opening the ‘bitcoin identity’ case last week, Mr Justice Mellor revealed that ‘about 400 people from all over the world’ had signed up for the live streaming of COPA v Wright.

That was on top of around 70 people we counted squeezed into Court 30 of the Rolls Building, with another dozen watching a feed in the overflow Court 9.

Obiter had predicted that, amid all this attention, our courts estate would throw one of its trademark tantrums. Even if the roof didn’t fall in or the courtroom plunge into darkness, surely the remote feed would be inaudible and the evidence screen massively out of sync?

Not so far, thanks to the efforts of an audiovisual crew whose rig in the corner of Court 30 would not have disgraced Glastonbury.  

Just one bit of infrastructure let the side down: we know that heat rises, but is it really essential for the fifth floor Court 30 to emulate a steam room? Perspiring on our perch next to the defendant’s legal team, we could only envy the judge for the industrial-scale air conditioning unit operating behind the bench.

It will be interesting to see whether the global bitcoin community – not particularly noted for respecting rules and regulations – obeys a detailed and blood-curdling order about contempt.  

The main online reaction seems to be disappointment that Mr Justice Mellor isn’t the senile incompetent of caricature. ‘He wasn’t even wearing a wig,’ one bitcoin blogger sighed.

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