UK government plans to scrap some jury trials in an attempt to clear a court backlog

LONDON AP The right to trial by jury will be pared back in Britain in an attempt to clear a backlog of cases clogging up the justice system the governing body reported Tuesday Justice Secretary David Lammy announced overload and delays had created an exigency in our courts that risks collapsing trust in British justice The U K court system has struggled to clear a backlog of cases built up since the COVID- pandemic The establishment says there are almost cases waiting to be heard in criminal courts in England and Wales more than double the pre-pandemic figure with particular cases taking several years to reach trial Under the changes crimes with a likely sentence of three years or less will be tried before a judge alone up from the current two years Judges will also be able to sit without a jury in specific complex fraud and financial cases Magistrates who handle less serious offenses will be able to impose sentences of up to months rather than the current months allowing them to handle more cases Defendants in what are known as either way cases involving mid-level offenses will lose the right to opt for trial either by judge or jury with courts deciding where cases will be heard Lammy reported The changes apply to England and Wales Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate judicial systems Lammy stated the reforms would deliver swifter justice for casualties We re all proud of our justice system rooted in the Magna Carta but we must never forget that it implores us not to deny or delay justice Lammy reported lawmakers in the House of Commons When casualties are left waiting for years justice is effectively denied to them He stated the changes would reduce by about a quarter the number of cases heard by juries but that jury trials will continue to be the cornerstone of the system for the largest part serious of offenses including murder manslaughter rape serious assault and robbery Magna Carta the hallowed charter of English liberties forced on King John in includes the stipulation that No free man shall be seized or imprisoned or stripped of his rights or possessions or outlawed or exiled except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land That s widely interpreted as laying the foundations for trial by jury though the modern British system of jury trial dates from the th century and has been revised since Legal groups expressed concern about that right being undermined The Law Society of England and Wales declared the proposals go too far in eroding our fundamental right to be judged by a jury of our own peers Riel Karmy-Jones chairwoman of the Criminal Bar Association mentioned It is not juries that cause delays Rather it is all the consequences of the years of underfunding that look set to continue Source