European Convention on Human Rights: Article 6 - fair trial
"Article 6 provides a detailed right to a fair trial, including:
The right to a public hearing before an independent and impartial tribunal
Within reasonable time
the presumption of innocence
and other minimum rights for those charged with a criminal offence
adequate time and facilities to prepare their defence
access to legal representation
The right to examine witnesses against them or have them examined
right to the free assistance of an interpreter."
The right to an impartial tribunal and the presumption of innocence were denied to Jeremy Bamber when the judge referred to Sheila as murdered. In so doing, the judge effectively directed the jury to find Bamber guilty.
The right to adequate facilities to prepare his defence was denied to Jeremy Bamber when thousands of pieces of evidence were placed under a PII gagging order which denied JB's defence access to these, thereby preventing the defence doing their job. JB's defence could not possibly have properly represented their client under such restrictive circumstances.
The right to have witnesses examined was denied to Jeremy Bamber when the prosecution used the PII gagging order to withhold witness statements from the defence: statements such as that of the electricity meter reader who had witnessed one of Sheila's psychotic episodes just hours prior to the murders. Ewen Smith took a witness statement from the employee, and found out that he had made a witness statement to the original investigating officers, only for it not to be disclosed to Jeremy or his legal team, and not listed as being withheld under pii rules.
Jeremy Bamber's defence and any hope of justice or a fair trial for Jeremy Bamber were locked in a PII straight Jacket from which justice and the truth had no hope of escaping.
Had any of my tribunal clients been placed in such a prejudicial situation, they would have had no hope of a fair hearing of their case.
"A fair trial might be impeded by:
Contempt of court (typically by the media or jurors)
Witness intimidation
Non-disclosure of evidence, through malice or through abuse of State Secrets Privilege (in the USA) or Public interest immunity (in the UK)"
In my opinion, contempt of court by media, or the press, includes the press reaching, or suggesting they are interested in agreeing, an arrangement with a trial witness, prior to a trial, for the witness to sell their story to a newspaper. If this happened in JM's case, then it prejudiced this trial and Bamber's right to a fair trial,
In my opinion, this trial was prejudicial to justice.
