Plans had sparked criticism from lawyers
The government has partially u-turned on plans to curb jury trials, scrapping proposals for a wider expansion of criminal cases being heard by judge alone.
More serious cases will continue to go before juries, with Justice Secretary Alex Norris saying he had “heard the strength of feeling” around the controversial changes.
The reversal is not complete, however, with lengthy and technical fraud and financial cases still set to be heard by judges sitting without juries. The government will also press ahead with wider reforms aimed at cutting the Crown Court backlog, including giving magistrates greater sentencing powers and allowing courts to decide where certain cases should be heard.
Legal Cheek reported on the original plans last November, when then Justice Secretary David Lammy proposed removing jury trials from most criminal cases, with juries retained for offences including murder, rape and manslaughter.
The revised reforms come as the Crown Court backlog sits at almost 81,000 cases, with nearly a third waiting for a year or more. The changes will be made through amendments to the Courts and Tribunals Bill, which is due to return to parliament later this month.
Announcing the change of course, Norris said:
“I have heard the strength of feeling on the proposals for increasing the number of judge-alone trials in the Crown Court and have made the decision to change course.”
“This allows us to start that work far earlier, ensuring that under this government we do not have victims waiting endlessly for justice,” he added.
The Bar Council welcomed the partial u-turn, with chair Kirsty Brimelow KC describing it as a “significant and welcome move” away from reducing the role of juries.
She thanked Norris for listening to the profession, but warned that expanding magistrates’ sentencing powers and removing defendants’ right to elect jury trial could place further strain on magistrates’ courts and deepen existing disparities in the justice system.