AUSTRALIA
Border Mail
Adam Cooper
11 Jul 2017
Senior lawyers say Victoria should allow judge-only trials in some cases, after expressing concerns Cardinal George Pell would not get a fair hearing on historic sex charges.
As Cardinal Pell returned to Australia on Monday ahead of his July 26 court appearance, two QCs not connected to his case have raised doubts about the 76-year-old getting a fair hearing, should his case proceed to a jury trial.
They said it was time Victoria followed NSW, Queensland and Western Australia and had the option of judge-alone trials in cases with high-profile defendants.
Peter Chadwick and Remy van de Weil, QCs with more than three decades each of experience as barristers, questioned whether jurors could shut out their perceptions of the cardinal and the Catholic Church and focus solely on the criminal allegations.
Cardinal Pell has denied the offending.
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