"PA Justice Secretary David Lammy is proposing to massively restrict the ancient right to a jury trial by only guaranteeing it for defendants facing rape, murder, manslaughter or other cases passing a public interest test. An internal government briefing, produced by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) for all other Whitehall departments, confirms plans to create a new tier of jury-less courts. The new courts would deal with most crimes currently considered by juries in Crown Court."
"The plans, obtained by BBC News, show that Lammy, who is also deputy prime minister, wants to ask Parliament to end jury trials for defendants who would be jailed for up to five years. The proposals are an attempt to end unprecedented delays and backlogs in courts in England and Wales, and do not apply to Scotland or Northern Ireland. The MoJ presentation, produced earlier this month, sets out that Crown Courts are facing record backlogs with more than 78,000 cases waiting to be completed."
Justice Secretary and deputy prime minister David Lammy proposes restricting jury trials so they are guaranteed only for rape, murder, manslaughter or cases meeting a public interest test. The Ministry of Justice briefing outlines plans to create a new tier of jury-less courts to hear most offences currently tried by juries in Crown Court. The proposal would end jury trials for defendants facing sentences of up to five years and aims to reduce record backlogs exceeding 78,000 Crown Court cases. Officials warn caseloads could exceed 100,000 and delays may push serious-trial dates to late 2029 or early 2030. No final government decision has been made.
Read at www.bbc.com
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