JUDGES have given a warning to the Lord Chancellor’s officials that a proposed smoking ban in courts could seriously disrupt trials and affect the interests of justice.

They say that the ban, proposed from August 1, will hit jurors and defendants, many of whom will be unable to get through court proceedings without a puff.

Jurors may be unable to concentrate, judges say, and if a jury includes several heavy smokers, there is a danger that they will rush in verdicts so as to be able to have a cigarette.

The result could be appeals from defendants on the ground that unnecessary pressure has been brought on the jury because of the Department for Constitutional Affairs’ smoking policy, judges say. The letter from Judge Keith Cutler, honorary secretary to the Council of Circuit Judges, which represents more than 600 Crown Court judges, makes clear that judges support the principle of a ban from public areas in court houses.

But it goes on: “There are serious issues concerning court users and especially jurors who cannot manage a court day without the need for a smoke.

“It is vital for the interests of justice that all jurors should concentrate on evidence in the case being tried and play a full part in the deliberations which lead to the jury agreeing on its verdict.”

Court buildings have many heavy smokers with a high level of dependence, Judge Cutler concludes, who “cannot choose whether they are there or not” and need to be able to indulge their habit to a limited degree so they can concentrate.

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