Lengthy trials by jury are costing taxpayers €3,000 every day, the Times of Malta has learnt.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, sources close to the court administration complained about the length of the latest trials by jury, with the last three spanning between 15 and 19 days.
“Before, most trials used to average around 10 to 14 days,” the sources said.
“Each day of a trial costs €3,000. It is the presiding judge who dictates the pace of each case.”
But lawyers speaking to this newspaper have strongly defended Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi, the judge who presided over last year’s trials by jury, explaining that the measured pace with which the latest trials were conducted ensured that jurors were not mentally drained.
“Mr Justice Mizzi focuses on the well-being of the jurors and does not allow hearings to drag on late into the evening,” one lawyer said.
“It is very important that jurors are comfortable and serene.”
The duration of a trial by jury depended on a number of factors, namely the number of witnesses and the working hours of the presiding judge, as well as the nature of the case, with homicide trials tending to take longer than trials involving drug trafficking offences.
If a trial lasts for more than a day, the jury and supplementary jurors may be sequestered by the court, meaning that they are not allowed to communicate with anyone. In such cases, all the jurors are accompanied to a hotel and lodged there for the night. The majority of the €3,000 goes towards covering accommodation and dining expenses.
If a jury trial lasts longer than three days, jurors are paid a nominal fee.
The last three trials by jury took an average of 17 days to be decided. In all cases, the court ordered the jury to be sequestered. The trials proceeded through public holidays and Saturdays.
In October, Matthew Mizzi was found guilty of being an accomplice in an armed robbery after a trial which lasted 15 days.
Jurors reached a guilty verdict in Nizar El Gadi’s trial 19 days after it began. Mr El Gadi was found guilty of asphyxiating his former wife, Margaret Mifsud, a lawyer, in November.
Last month saw the trial of Allan Galea, found guilty of the murder of Twanny Borg. Jurors reached the verdict after 16 days.
On the first day of a trial, the names of one foreman and eight ordinary jurors are drawn by ballot in open court from a short list and in the presence of the accused, his counsel and the prosecution.
Normally a number of supplementary jurors – between three to five – are also drawn by ballot.
In 1811, the Maltese petitioned the British for the introduction of the jury system.
This led to the system being first adopted in 1815, although its scope was limited, in that it was restricted to trials in the Court of Piracy – a phenomenon still prevalent at the time.