Conor McGregor civil case latest: Jury to resume deliberations tomorrow

Jury deliberations in the civil case against MMA fighter Conor McGregor began today and are set to resume tomorrow. Conor is accused of raping a woman named Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel six years ago.

After the DPP failed to pursue a legal case, Ms Hand filed a civil suit against Conor and his friend James Lawrence for damages, claiming they both raped her in the Beacon Hotel in Sandyford on 9 December 2018.

Both men deny the claims and say they each had consensual sex with Ms Hand on the day in question.

The jury of eight women and four men began their deliberations on Thursday and were given a number of questions that they had to answer, RTE reports.

The questions include: "Did Conor McGregor assault Nikita Hand?". If they answer no to this question, then that is the end of the case against McGregor. If they answer yes, then they go on to consider damages.

The second question asks if James Lawrence assaulted Nikita Hand. Again, if the answer is no, then the case against him ends. If the answer is yes, then they must assess damages to be paid on behalf of Mr Lawrence.

Mr Justice Alexander Owens told the jurors they must assess each man separately and that a yes or no answer in relation to one man did not mean they should give the same answer in relation to the other man.

The judge told the jury that if they found Ms Hand had been raped, they should award her substantial damages - as rape was a very serious matter.

He told the jury they should assume the Court of Appeal was looking over their shoulder when they assessed the amounts for damages, as if they had good reasons for their decision, it was "less likely to go wrong".

Today the jury finished their deliberations at 3.55pm. Mr Justice Alexander Owens told the jurors they can forget about the case now until 10am Friday morning when deliberations will resume.

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