Plans for judge-alone trials where there's a danger of jury tampering have been welcomed by some lawyers and politicians, but criticised by others.

As The Royal Gazette reported on Monday, Attorney General Kim Wilson has prepared a Cabinet discussion paper so the issue can be debated.

Under her proposals, prosecutors would be allowed to request a trial without a jury where jury tampering is a concern.

Defence lawyers could request such a trial if it was feared the defendant would not receive a fair trial from a jury due to factors such as the nature of the crime or the defendant's nationality.

The news was welcomed by Sen. Wilson's opposite number, Shadow Attorney General Trevor Moniz.

He commented: "I think it's a promising initiative. I think it's the way to go. It shows the Attorney General recognises the very serious challenges Bermuda continues to face. I do have concerns over civil liberties though, and we need to keep a close eye on that and monitor the use of these powers."

Government backbencher Wayne Perinchief, a former Assistant Police Commissioner, also agreed with the idea. However, he would like to see mandatory judge-alone trials for all gun cases.

"It's the gang element and the intimidation of witnesses that would concern me, where a jury would feel compromised and not bring in a verdict of guilty," he explained.

"It should not be optional. Once you start bringing in this discretionary situation, that's where bias creeps in. If it's the same for everybody there can be no bias or negotiating plea bargains."

Mr. Perinchief also recommended using visiting judges to hear such cases, such as the Court of Appeal already uses, rather than local ones "because the intimidation factor is still there if you have local judges".

Defence lawyer Mark Pettingill, a Bermuda Democratic Alliance MP, also backed the idea saying: "We are a small place and the risk of people knowing defendants is obvious. There have already been concerns about interference with jurors and certainly with witnesses. It is highly likely that jurors are very reluctant to be involved with gun / gang crime cases. We have a reckless disregard for life situation on our streets with many of these shootings and a complete lack of respect for law and order. Who wouldn't be intimidated by people with that mindset?"

He added: "We have to look at all options carefully. We already have judge-alone trial of course in Magistrates' Court so it is not as if it is an outrageous concept. Many times in our Supreme Court system, justices make a finding of not guilty on a no-case ruling. Personally I feel that we have encountered a number of difficulties with the jury system in Bermuda where decisions have not gone the way that they should, often, I suspect, because the jury either did not get the directions on the law from the judge, or worse just ignored them.

"Of course, people have also been critical when a judge has decided to throw a case out for lack of evidence, so I do not see that a single-judge system will suddenly have a huge impact on the conviction rate. Proactively addressing our laws on policing, evidence gathering and monitoring suspects and parolees will likely have the biggest impact on crime."

Defence lawyer and former Attorney General Phil Perinchief said judge-alone trials should be contemplated in legally complex cases, as has been the case for some time with civil trials.

He added: "Wider powers of inquiry ought to be accorded to both prosecution and defence in the jury selection process with a view to ascertaining just how biased a given potential juror may be for or against a defendant. I would caution, however, that these 'powers of inquiry' ought not be as wide as those afforded in the United States.

"Lastly, the defendant ought to be afforded the right to make an election as to whether or not he or she will face a jury or judge-alone trial, with a discretionary court 'override' only in 'borderline' cases. At times, there may be a need to have a three-judge panel to handle either the jury selection process or the election process."

However, defence lawyer Larry Scott said: "My first reaction is I'm going to stop doing defence work altogether (if this happens). We have been through a very bad period of reactionary legislation and no one is looking at the front end of resolving these problems. We have failed in our educational system in Bermuda, and we have produced these young thugs. They have turned to an alternative way of making a living, and it's drugs."

Mr. Scott said juries have a knowledge of living in "real-life society" that a judge does not have, and he has never come across a case where he felt a jury would not be fair.

"We've not had a case yet of a jury being tampered with," he added. "We have not got to that point yet. We are tampering with hallowed principles that govern a very rational society. My concern is when all this is gone, these rules can be used against ordinary people too."

And defence lawyer and former Attorney General Saul Froomkin QC questioned whether Bermuda's Constitution would allow judge-alone trials to be held.

"I don't think I can add much to the discussion taking place. I wonder, however, whether the AG's chambers have considered section 6(2) (g) of the Constitution which provides that 'every person who is charged with a criminal offence shall, when charged on information or indictment in the Supreme Court, have the right to trial by jury'," he said.

"That being the case, I don't know how that provision can be avoided if the trial is to be a criminal trial, tried before the Supreme Court."

Kiernan Bell, president of the Bermuda Bar Association said: "The Bar would clearly be very interested in such legislation given the significance of the right to a trial by jury. The Attorney General has always consulted with the Bar on legislation of interest to the profession and I have no doubt that, should Cabinet decide to explore this further, the Bar will be consulted and will provide its views."