How about the poor judge? I know it’s his job, but even so. I’m surprised he’s not taken one of the many opportunities HPE have given him to reach an instant decision...
Jury trials for these kind of cases were abandoned because no one could assemble a jury willing to sit for this long.
I know of a small businessman in my home town who nearly went bust having been called up for a complex case. He narrowly avoided bankruptcy by walking out of the case, the 28 days in jail he was given for contempt being financially preferable to months more jury time.
There was also the perception that a jury no longer cared a damn one way or other after months of incomprehensible mumbo jumbo, and would more often than not acquit simply to punish the prosecuting authorities.
Having been a juror myself for only a two week stint I’m not convinced that objectivity survives in the minds of all jurors for even that short period of time. IMHO our jury system completely sucks. The French do it far, far better.