LAST WEEK saw David Lammy (Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, as well as Deputy Prime Minister) announce that jury trials in England and Wales for crimes that carry a likely sentence of less than 3 years, will be scrapped.
Serious offences such as murder, robbery and rape would still go before a jury and magistrates would take on even more cases. Currently, over 90% of criminal cases are decided by magistrates courts.
There is currently a backlog of 78,000 cases for Crown Courts and it is expected to increase to 100,000 by 2028. David Lammy has suggested that without reform, the backlog could hit 135,100 by 2030
A person currently charged with an offence might have to wait until 2030 for trial. Statistics also show that in 6 out of 10 cases of rape, the victims are withdrawing from prosecution.
The reforms will remove the right for some defendants to ask for a trial by jury where they will either be heard by magistrates or a new form of judge only, Crown Court.
David Lammy’s proposals could see a 25% reduction of jury trials.
The Conservatives have called it “the beginning of the end of jury trials”.
There is a backlog, cases can drag on, witnesses move away and memories fade, and victims lose hope.
But it wasn’t the jury system that created the backlog. It was political decisions of closing courts and fewer sitting days. Buildings needing repairs and upgrading. Legal aid cuts.
Juries are one of the foundations of our justice system. Now Labour wants to curtail trial by jury, in which 12 ordinary men and women decide the outcome of difficult cases.
Liberal Democrat Justice Spokesperson, Jess Brown-Fuller MP commented: “Jury trial is a cornerstone of our justice system and a fundamental safeguard of liberty and fairness. It’s not a peculiar inconvenience; it’s a fundamental right.
“The Government makes it seem like there’s no alternative. That is simply not true. The Liberal Democrats are calling for a comprehensive strategy that increases court sitting days, makes better use of underused courtrooms, fixes broken private contracts that leave defendants stuck in prison vans, and invests in rehabilitation to reduce reoffending.”
These suggestions do not require the dismantling of trial by jury.
Anyone facing serious criminal charges must keep the right to choose a jury trial. Not just for the rare headline cases, but for the serious offences that affect real lives every day—assault, fraud, serious public order offences, some sexual offences.
Jury trial isn’t a luxury or a quirky tradition. It’s what stands between a liberal democracy and something colder, narrower, and far easier to abuse. Take that away, and you lose something deep and precious.
