Defamation – Libel – Harassment – Mode of trial – Judge and jury – Prolonged examination of documents – s.69 Supreme Court Act 1981
The applicant (G) had issued defamation and harassment proceedings against H in relation to material published on a website and associated forum. G applied to vary the mode of trial from judge and jury to judge alone. G submitted that the case would involve prolonged and careful scrutiny of the documentary evidence and the issues could not be resolved in a broad-brush way.
Whether there should be trial by judge alone
The judge allowed the application, holding that there would be a prolonged examination of documents which could not conveniently be made with a jury, and that the Court should not exercise its discretion to order trial with a jury: Aitken v Preston [1997] EMLR 417 applied.
Eady J expressed the view that “to attempt to reach a fair solution in the present case with a jury grappling with so many different documents would be something of a ‘nightmare’”.