Court delays are not reason enough to limit trial by jury

Michael Mansfield

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It has almost become an axiomatic feature of recent government: deteriorating situations are known but not addressed until catastrophe intervenes, at which point those responsible in the revolving door of politics run for cover, and amnesia sets in. Hillsborough, Grenfell and the infected blood scandal are a few examples. The latest to rise to the surface is the state of the criminal justice system and jury trial.

The figures are shocking and the backlog of cases is a major miscarriage of justice in itself. As of 31 March it stood at 76,957 cases waiting. Over a nine-month period, a record 14,800 trials were delayed. These are figures published by the Criminal Bar Association, which has warned about the traumatic consequences for all involved: justice delayed by this margin is not only denied but destroyed. Add prison overcrowding and savage cuts to legal provision into the mix, and the idea of a fair and accessible system of justice fades rapidly.

All this has been known for decades. During Covid, for example, the backlog figure had risen to 40,526 by May 2020. So it has almost doubled in five years. What is depressing is the reaction: to target the right to jury trial. Wrong target.