‘Juries a crucial check against state overreach’
As Westminster's House of Commons debates legislation this afternoon that will curb the right to a jury trial, more than 3,200 lawyers – including 20 retired judges, 15% of all barristers, as well as high-profile TV personalities – have urged Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer to think again.
The proposals 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.
The letter, organised by the Bar Council, which represents all barristers in England and Wales, says that instead of draining valuable time and resources attempting to force through "an unpopular, untested and poorly evidenced change to the jury system", the focus should be on the changes in Part 2 of the Leveson review
England-and-Wales solicitors also mobilised outside the British House of Commons this morning to protest against Justice Secretary David Lammy's move to restrict the right to a jury trial, ahead of MPs debating the Courts and Tribunals Bill this afternoon.
Disproportionately affecting minority communities
Led by the London Criminal Courts Solicitors' Association, the protesting solicitors said that Lammy's proposal would fundamentally alter the rights of those who come before the criminal courts and disproportionately affect minority communities and working-class people – people reliant on a fair and accessible justice system.
Andrew Bishop, vice chair of the Criminal Law Solicitors Association, described restricting jury trials as “the wrong answer to the right question”.
Muntech Kaur, president of the Society of Asian Lawyers, said juries served as a “crucial check against state overreach”.
Ahead of entering parliament to lobby MPs, some politicians came out to express solidarity with solicitors.
O'Donnell to vote against bill
Labour’s John McDonnell MP said that he will be voting against the bill and that the right to a jury trial was a fundamental right.
“I do not want to be associated with this bill,” he said.
Labour MP Imran Hussain said Lammy's plans were “ill advised, rushed through and will not address the court backlog”.
Labour's Bell Ribeiro-Addy told the England-and-Wales Gazette that “the evidence shows where you have a jury trial, those who are from ethnic minorities are likely to receive a different outcome.
“The fact almost the entire legal profession is against this shows us this is wrong. They are the ones who understand what's happening.
"Trust your lawyer,” he said.