Rape trial collapsed after jury watched darts on TV

The British Crown Prosecution Service criticised a jury after it caused the collapse of a rape trial after some members watched a darts match on TV.

They should have been considering a verdict at the time.

Judge Paul Hoffman was forced to order a re-trail at York Crown Court after it was revealed that some of a 12-strong jury had not joined in part of the deliberations.

The eight men and four women were due to deliver a verdict on 19-year-old Phillip James Nicholas who stood accused of raping a York woman in her front garden.

A spokeswoman for the British Lord Chancellor's Department said: "The trial did collapse yesterday at York as a result of the jurors who were watching television in the jury deliberation room. The judge decided it wasn't primarily because they were watching certain programmes but because he had asked them all to deliberate together. Some weren't involved in the deliberation proceedings and the judge felt he couldn't continue with the trial."

A CPS spokesman said: "This is extremely frustrating. The thing you have to consider is the witnesses we have brought to court. They have been inconvenienced, it is a traumatic experience giving evidence in court and they are most likely to have to go through it all again."

The blunder came to light as the court prepared to restart proceedings after a lunchtime adjournment. The jury foreman, who was questioned on exactly what had taken place in the jury deliberation room, confirmed that some members of the jury had watched the local news and the Embassy World Darts Championship.

York Crown Court has an unusual setup in that there is only one room available for jury members. It acts as both a jury waiting room and a deliberation room.

A television set had been put in the room to ease the boredom of waiting for a trial to get off the ground or during arduous legal arguments when the jury must wait outside the courtroom. But, on this occasion, jurors were able to use the television during deliberation - a time when they should have no contact with the outside world.

The LCD spokeswoman said: "The television has been removed to prevent this ever happening again." The cost to the taxpayer of the trial's collapse was believed to have cost more than £34,000.