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David Lammy’s plan to scrap jury trials for crimes with sentences of less than three years is a serious blow against justice, according to the evidence.

The Justice Secretary announced a scheme in which juries will be removed from trials of all but the most serious crimes, like murder, robbery and rape. The less serious crimes will be heard by volunteer community magistrates.

According to the BBC,

“Lammy said the new system would get cases dealt with a fifth faster than jury trials.

“He added that it was necessary as current projections have Crown Court case loads reaching 100,000 by 2028, from the current backlog of almost 78,000.

“This means that currently a suspect being charged with an offence today may not reach trial until 2030.

“Six out of 10 victims of rape are said to be withdrawing from prosecutions because of delays.

“A defendant’s right to a jury trial would also be restricted to prevent them from “gaming the system”, Lammy said.

“The reforms to the jury process will remove the right for defendants to ask for a jury trial where a case can be dealt with by either magistrates or a new form of judge-only Crown Court.

“Critics of restrictions to trial by jury – including almost all barristers – say it won’t have any impact on the backlogs because the real problem has been cuts to the Ministry of Justice.”

This was borne out by barrister Joanna Hardy Susskind when she appeared on the BBC’s Politics Live show to explain the reasons the legal profession are against the change…

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