A LAWYER who is facing contempt proceedings after representing a Palestine Action member in court has thanked supporters as a petition calling for him to be cleared topped 14,000 signatures.
Rajiv Menon, who represented a woman involved in the Elbit Systems factory raid, faces a prison sentence of up to two years for reminding the jury of their right to acquit according to their conscience.
The KC, of Garden Court Chambers, was charged with contempt of court after he referred jurors to the plaque on the outside of the Old Bailey, otherwise known as the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commemorating a famous case which established the right of juries to “give their verdict according to their convictions”.
During his defence of Charlotte Head, who was cleared and later sentenced to five years in prison after a retrial, Menon referred to the memorial to the displeasure of Justice Johnson.
That judge referred his contempt allegations to another, Justice Nicklin, who ruled last month there was enough evidence to bring proceedings against Menon. He faces trial on Tuesday.
A petition backing Menon had reached 14,220 signatures at time of writing on Wednesday, close to its target of 15,000.
Speaking to The National, Menon said: “I’m grateful for the enormous public support that I’ve had at this most difficult time.”
Due to the ongoing legal proceedings, Menon said it would inappropriate for him to comment further.
The petition said: “No barrister in British legal history has ever faced contempt proceedings over the content of a closing speech.
“Rajiv Menon now faces up to two years in prison for words that barristers have recited in court for centuries.
“His case has become a test of a far larger principle: do jurors have a right to acquit according to their conscience, even where a judge's directions point toward conviction?
"Barristers can now be forbidden by judges from mentioning this principle – sometimes called jury equity – even though the independence of juries has been recognised in law since the 1670 case of R v Penn and Mead, and is honoured on a plaque at the Old Bailey itself.”
It added: “If the independence of juries can no longer be spoken of in court without risking prison, every defendant's ability to receive a fearless defence is put at risk.”
Pointing the finger at newly-appointed Justice Secretary Alex Norris and Attorney General Ellie Reeves, the petition added: “Do you want to be remembered on another plaque in the Old Bailey as those that destroyed Britain’s juries?”
The Attorney General’s Office said it had no involvement with the proceedings against Menon. The judiciary cannot comment on individual cases nor on matters relating to individual cases.
The plaque commemorates the trial and acquittal of William Penn, who later founded the province of Pennsylvania, and William Mead on charges of unlawful assembly.
The jury refused to accept the instructions of the judge and the foreman Edward Bushel refused to pay the fine imposed by the judge for disobeying him. The resolution in his case established the right of jury equity beyond doubt in English law.
