Twelve empty seats : reflections on judge only trials after jury tampering

For the first time in legal history the Central Criminal Court is sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice in a judge alone trial. R. v T; R. v B; R. v C; R. v H (“R. v T”)1 has proved to be highly controversial. The trial, taking place in Court 35, has attracted the attention of practitioners, academics, the media and subsequently, the general public. It is no exaggeration to say that this landmark decision will have a lasting impact on the nature of the adversarial criminal trial.