Thousands of lawyers oppose jury restriction plan

"We have long warned that the criminal justice system is in crisis.... Juries have not caused this crisis. The letter organised by the Bar Council, which represents all barristers in England and Wales, says the plan is an attempt to force through an unpopular, untested and poorly evidenced change to our jury system."

"The proposals, which return to Parliament on Tuesday, would replace juries in England and Wales with a single judge in cases where a convicted defendant would be jailed for up to three years. Deputy PM and Justice Secretary David Lammy says this and other reforms can help turn around backlogs which have reached record levels of almost 80,000 Crown Court cases."

"The right to jury trial - in which ordinary people decide on the guilt or innocence of defendants brought before Crown Courts - is a cornerstone of the constitution dating back more than 800 years."

More than 3,200 legal professionals, including 300 top barristers and retired judges, have written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer opposing proposals to replace jury trials with single judges in cases where sentences would not exceed three years. The government argues these reforms are necessary to address unprecedented delays in criminal courts, with some defendants potentially waiting until 2030 for trial. The legal professionals contend juries have not caused the crisis and urge the government to implement modernization reforms instead. The right to jury trial, a constitutional cornerstone dating back over 800 years, would be fundamentally altered by these proposals returning to Parliament.

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