Juries will go in thousands of cases, confirms Lammy

David Lammy has announced the creation of new “swift courts” which will see a judge decide verdicts in thousands of cases where the right to a jury trial will be removed.

- DAVID MADDOX POLITICAL EDITOR

As part of sweeping reforms to the criminal court system in England and Wales, the justice secretary unveiled plans to scrap juries in so-called either-way cases that would have a likely jail sentence of three years or less.

They include offences such as burglary, threats to kill, affray and theft. Serious offences, including murder, robbery, grievous bodily harm and rape, will still go before a jury.

Against a backdrop of criticism from the legal profession and political opponents, Mr Lammy, who is also deputy prime minister, insisted the reforms were “bold but necessary” because victims are facing “agonising delays” in the system with the crown court backlog projected to reach 100,000 by 2028.

After the original proposals were announced, Lord Chief Justice Sir Brian Leveson, who recommended a series of proposals to tackle the court backlog, described the justice system as being “on the brink of collapse”. He broadly welcomed the plans but cautioned that there was “no silver bullet” to deal with the crisis.

The Conservatives described the proposals as the “beginning of the end of jury trials”, warning that Mr Lammy was stripping away centuries of individual rights. However, a poll of 2,000 voters by Merlin Strategy revealed that there is public support for the reforms by 40 per cent to 34 per cent.

Announcing his criminal court reform in the Commons, Mr Lammy said: “I will create new swift courts within the crown court with a judge alone deciding verdicts in trial of either-way cases with a likely sentence of three years or less, as Sir Brian recommends. “Sir Brian estimates that they will deliver justice at least 20 per cent faster than jury trials, and whilst jury deliberations remain confidential, judges provide reasoning for their verdicts in open courts, so this will hardwire transparency in our new approach.”