A leak in the jury’s retiring room has delayed the Joseph Eubank rape trial at Lewes Crown Court this afternoon (Thursday 26 September).
Torrential rain breached the roof of the early 19th century courthouse, with a genuine concern that the ceiling might collapse.
With other trials taking place in the building, Judge Christine Laing, the honorary recorder of Brighton and Hove, said that there wasn’t a spare room available for jurors today.
Just after another downpour at lunchtime and without the prospect of the ceiling being promptly repaired, Judge Laing sent the jury home for the rest of the day.
The judge said that she planned to sum up the facts of the case in the morning before asking the jury to retire and consider their verdicts.
The headline was misleading. It sounded as though somebody had revealed discussions so far.
Penny-pinching government spending comes home to roost. 373 court days were lost in 2022 because of incidents like this, no wonder we have such a massive backlog in cases.
Poor girl.. predated upon and totally let down by the justice system