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Juries do a fairly good job of deciding certain questions of fact — is somebody guilty or not? — but they are dominated by the more educated people, the more advantaged.

"She is abdicating her duty, and this is something that she needs to decide, not a jury. It's a question of law, not a question of fact."

In his decision, released on Friday, Justice Merchan wrote that there are "significant questions of fact which this court must resolve".

“Whether this was the case here is a question of fact,” he said.

In his ruling, the judge stated whether Mr Adams was "at the material times" a member of the IRA or its leadership "is a question of fact that can only be determined at full trial".