Judge dismisses juror from Toyah Cordingley trial amid police bias claims
The second trial of Rajwinder Singh nearly ended in a mistrial 12 days in. Find out what we couldn’t reveal during the trial.
The second Toyah Cordingley murder trial nearly ended in a mistrial 12 days in as one juror was discharged and a reserve juror was called on to step in as the trial neared its end.
Innisfail nurse Rajwinder Singh pleaded not guilty to Ms Cordingley’s murder on October 21, in 2018, but was ultimately found guilty by the jury on Monday, December 9.
The trial was in its third week and most witnesses had been called by the Crown when Justice Lincoln Crowley indicated to the court at the start of the day a juror had raised an issue via a note.
The note said one juror appeared to be biased against the police, was communicating disrespectfully to another juror and had been overheard saying they had: “heard all they needed to hear”, leading the note-writer to express concerns about the juror’s impartiality.
A submission was made by defence for the whole jury to be dismissed and the trial abandoned, however it was rejected by Justice Crowley.
A non-publication order, effective for the duration of the trial, meant the jury drama could not be reported earlier.
The note-writer said the juror had mentioned he had experienced violence in his life which may explain his feelings towards the police.
Prosecutor Nathan Crane submitted that the juror be discharged and the first reserve juror step into the 12.
However, defence Barrister Gregory McGuire KC described the note contents as “very troubling” and submitted that the whole jury should be discharged.
“This is not just a clear expression of bias, it is an expression of conduct towards other jurors so it might lead to a reasonable submission from a fair minded member of the public that the jury has not, or will not, or, in our submission, cannot discharge their duty impartially.”
“If one is to discharge (the) juror, the whole jury should be discharged.” Mr McGuire KC said.
He raised concerns about a perception that other jurors may be trying to rid the jury of someone who was sympathetic towards the defendant.
There was a tense silence in the court as Justice Crowley considered the submissions while the court was in session, and the jurors remained in the jury room.
When the jury were brought back into the courtroom, Justice Crowley said he had decided to discharge the juror mentioned because of concerns about the their ability to remain impartial.
“I determined the appropriate course was to discharge the juror because all jurors must be impartial and be seen to be impartial,”he said, proceeding to ask the jury if they believed they could continue to try the case.
The jury, through its speaker, indicated they believed they could remain impartial and open-minded and try the case on the evidence alone.
Justice Crowley told the defence and prosecution he had “no reason to doubt that response from the jury and the juror.”
He said to the jury: “The directions I give to you in this trial are binding and you must not divert from them,” before the trial was continued.
After the first replacement juror joined, the jury heard from around 10 more witnesses over the following two days.
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Originally published as Judge dismisses juror from Toyah Cordingley trial amid police bias claims
