Slashing jury trials could clear courts backlog within a decade, says Lammy

"The backlog of nearly 80,000 trials clogging up the court system could be cleared within a decade if parliament agrees to slash the number of jury trials, David Lammy, the lord chancellor, has claimed. In an interview with the Guardian, the deputy prime minister, who is facing a backbench rebellion over the proposals, has urged Labour MPs and the public to back a version of Canada's judge-only trials in thousands of criminal cases in England and Wales."

"Lammy announced last month that defendants who were likely to receive a sentence of three years or less would no longer get a jury trial under new proposals. Defendants would no longer be able to choose a jury trial and the ability to appeal to a crown court against a magistrates court verdict would also be limited. Magistrates' powers would be extended from dealing with maximum sentences of one year to at least 18 months."

The proposal seeks to replace many jury trials with judge-only hearings to clear a backlog of nearly 80,000 trials within a decade. The plan would remove defendants' automatic access to jury trials for cases likely to carry sentences of three years or less and limit appeals to crown court from magistrates courts. Magistrates would gain extended sentencing powers and a judge-only swift court would be created to hear cases without juries. Ministers say the changes would halve annual jury trials from 15,000 and address pandemic-related delays. Dozens of Labour MPs have raised concerns about impacts on working-class and minority defendants, and a backbench rebellion has emerged.

Read at www.theguardian.com