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The Justice Secretary has revealed plans to eliminate jury trials in England and Wales for offenses likely to result in sentences under three years. This initiative is part of a broader scheme to introduce “swift courts” aimed at addressing the severe delays currently plaguing the criminal justice system. Despite these changes, serious crimes such as murder, robbery, and rape will continue to be tried by juries. Additionally, community magistrates, who already handle most criminal cases, will take on an increased workload. David Lammy described the reforms as “bold” but “necessary,” whereas Conservative critics have expressed concern, calling the proposals the “beginning of the end of jury trials.”
The origins of these reforms trace back to a review initiated by the Lord Chancellor in December 2024, where retired Court of Appeal judge Sir Brian Leveson was tasked with recommending ways to reduce the court backlog. His suggestions encompassed eliminating juries for certain cases and expanding out-of-court resolutions like cautions. Earlier in July, Sir Brian emphasized the urgent need for “fundamental” reforms to avoid a complete collapse of the justice system. Previous drafts of the plan, which leaked recently, proposed scrapping jury trials for crimes punishable by sentences up to five years. However, when officially announcing the measures in the House of Commons, Lammy scaled back the most controversial elements.
The new procedures are expected to speed up case processing by 20% compared to traditional jury trials, which is crucial given the projected Crown Court caseloads—expected to rise from nearly 78,000 to 100,000 by 2028. At present, suspects charged today might not face trial until 2030 due to delays. Such prolonged waits are already resulting in six out of ten rape victims withdrawing from prosecutions. Lammy also stated that restricting defendants’ right to a jury trial would reduce attempts to “game the system.” Under these reforms, defendants will no longer choose jury trials if their cases can be handled by magistrates or a new judge-only Crown Court. Moreover, those accused of fraud and complex financial crimes will lose the right to be tried by jury, based on recommendations from a senior retired judge earlier this year.
There are roughly 1.3 million prosecutions annually in England and Wales, with 10% proceeding to Crown Court and about 30% of those involving trials. The reforms are likely to maintain jury trials in just over 20% of cases. However, many barristers and critics argue that these changes will fail to resolve backlogs, which they attribute primarily to funding cuts made to the Ministry of Justice. Research also indicates that ethnic minorities generally trust jury trials more than magistrate-only hearings. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick accused Lammy of dismantling an institution the justice secretary once supported. Lammy, who had formerly voiced opposition to reducing jury trials, told the BBC that changing circumstances made reform necessary to tackle the backlog. In Parliament, Jenrick questioned Lammy’s authority to make such drastic changes without any mandate from the party’s manifesto, while Lammy attributed the crisis partly to previous reductions in court sitting days, noting that magistrates already handle most criminal trials.
Concerns about the reforms’ impact on public trust have also been voiced. Abigail Ashford, a solicitor advocate representing clients at Crown Court, warned that judge-only trials might exacerbate inequalities and damage confidence, particularly among marginalized communities. She argued that excluding the community from judging credibility and fairness in complicated or sensitive cases risks undermining justice in ways that a single judge cannot fully compensate for
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