Labour u-turn on axing of jury trials
The British government is to partially reverse its controversial plans to curb jury trials.
Lord Chancellor Alex Norris has changed course after hearing the “strength of feeling” on the controversial reform, the England-and-Wales Law Society Gazette reports.
Norris’s predecessor David Lammy had refused to budge on the most controversial element of the Courts and Tribunals Bill despite overwhelming opposition from the legal profession and dozens of Labour MPs.
Norris said yesterday (4 October): “This government inherited criminal courts on the brink of collapse, with victims waiting years for their day in court.
“I remain committed to bringing down the backlog and delivering swifter justice for those who so desperately need it.
'Change course'
“But I have heard the strength of feeling on the proposals for increasing the number of judge-alone trials in the Crown court and have made the decision to change course,” he said.
The planned Crown Court Bench Division, where judges alone would have heard cases likely to attract a prison sentence of up to three years, has been scrapped.
However, Norris still intends to remove the defendant's right to elect a jury trial for 'either-way' offences, such as theft and burglary.
Complex fraud cases could still be heard by a judge alone – despite warnings from City lawyers that this would create new burdens for courts and judges.