Judge throws out case against UK climate activist who held sign on jurors’ rights

(The Guardian, 22 Apr 2024) Trudi Warner was accused of contempt for holding placard reminding jurors of right to acquit based on conscience.

A high court judge has thrown out an attempt by the government’s most senior law officer to prosecute a woman for holding a placard on jury rights outside a climate trial.

Mr Justice Saini said there was no basis for a prosecution of Trudi Warner, 69, for criminal contempt for holding a placard outside the trial of climate activists that informed jurors of their right to acquit a defendant based on their conscience.

The judge accused government lawyers of “mischaracterising” the evidence when they said Warner had acted in an intimidating and abusive manner, confronting potential jurors outside the court and following them, in a deliberate attempt to interfere with the administration of justice.

Warner, a retired social worker, was being pursued for contempt of court after a lone protest last year outside inner London crown court in which she held up a placard highlighting the right of jurors to acquit defendants on their conscience. She protested at the start of a trial of Insulate Britain protesters for a peaceful roadblock. But the attorney general decided to pursue Warner for contempt of court, and the solicitor general was in the high court last week to seek permission to charge her.

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The Guardian, 22 Apr 2024: Judge throws out case against UK climate activist who held sign on jurors’ rights