Split trials with multiple defendants to make them easier to manage, judge suggests

Trials involving multiple defendants could be split in order to make them easier to manage during coronavirus restrictions, a judge has suggested. Social distancing in courtrooms means jury trials have been difficult to organise and a recent report warned that the backlog of criminal cases could take up to a decade to clear. But a judge preparing to hear a murder trial has suggested one answer might be to separate cases where there are more than three defendants and have more than one trial. Whi