The Court of Appeal refused leave to appeal from a judge's dismissal of an appeal from an associate judge's refusal to change the mode of trial from judge alone to judge and jury under r 47.02(2). The Court confirmed that a party seeking to alter the mode of trial after the opposing party has acquiesced in the original election must show a 'special reason' sufficient to outweigh the other party's chosen mode, and that subjective beliefs about loss of faith in state instrumentalities — falling short of any apprehended bias claim — do not constitute such a reason. The application was declared totally without merit under s 14D(3) of the Supreme Court Act 1986.
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