Judge: No Jury For Diana Inquest
A judge in Britain ruled Monday that the inquest into Princess Diana's death will not be held by jury, arguing it would be difficult to find a group of people without strong views on the case.
In her 34-page ruling, Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss wrote that it would be hard to find a jury who had not been exposed to the media reports on the Aug. 31, 1997, Paris car accident and the investigation that followed.
Butler-Sloss also wrote that the rules of an inquest would forbid a jury from considering the conspiracy theories that have dogged the investigation into the deaths of the princess and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed.
"In particular, the jury would not be able to answer questions on allegations that a person, group or organization had been guilty of criminal activities in respect of the death of the princess or Dodi al Fayed," she said.
The judge said there would be much technical evidence about the crash, including a video simulation and expert testimony. Over 30 witnesses would be asked to provide evidence — most likely by video link from Paris.
Butler-Sloss, a retired senior judge and member of the House of Lords, presided at the preliminary hearings at the Royal Courts of Justice, which concentrated on procedural issues. She ruled that all sessions would be open to the public, and that the deaths of Diana and Fayed would be examined together.
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Queen Elizabeth II sided with Fayed's father, Mohamed al Fayed, who had urged that a jury — if called — should be made up of members of the general public. Because Diana was buried as a royal, normally an inquest jury would be made up of royal household members.
That would have added fuel to the conspiracy theorists' fire, reports CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicar.
Fayed has accused the queen's husband, Prince Philip, of orchestrating a plot to murder Diana and Fayed. A police inquiry published last year concluded that there was no murder conspiracy, and that the deaths were accidental.
In a letter to the court, the queen's lawyer, Sir John Nutting, said that "in the particular circumstances of this case the public interest, it is submitted, would be best served by avoiding the course of (summoning) a 'royal' jury to avoid any appearance of bias in consideration of the issues which such an inquest would be bound to consider."
By deciding against any sitting jury at all, Butler-Sloss may have evaded criticism of a direct bias of loyalty to the royal family, but it was yet to be determined how impartial the British public ¬— and the parties involved — believe she can be as a one-woman judge and jury.
The full inquest, which was swiftly adjourned in 2004 shortly after it began, is expected to take place later this year, nearly a decade after the couple were killed in a car crash in a Paris tunnel. The inquest was put off until the French investigations were completed.