"Under Lammy's plans, jury trials will be reserved for cases in "indictable-only" offences such as murder and rape and "either-way" offences with a likely sentence of more than three years in prison. Volunteer community magistrates, who deal with the majority of all criminal cases, will take on more work and new "swift courts" will be set up. Lammy told MPs the new system would get cases dealt with a fifth faster than jury trials."
"Turner said "the announcement yesterday is fundamentally dishonest" as the "the backlog in the system isn't caused by the jury system - it's caused by other factors". Courtrooms were "not fit for purpose" and "bust" technology were causing delays in the system, the Hull East MP argued. Turner branded the plan unworkable and urged ministers to scrap it or face a humiliating climbdown."
"Volunteer community magistrates, who deal with the majority of all criminal cases, will take on more work and new "swift courts" will be set up. Lammy told MPs the new system would get cases dealt with a fifth faster than jury trials. He added that it was necessary as current projections have Crown Court case loads reaching 100,000 by 2028, from the current backlog of almost 78,000."
David Lammy proposes restricting jury trials to indictable-only offences and either-way offences likely to attract more than three years' imprisonment, with volunteer community magistrates handling more cases and new "swift courts" established. Lammy claims the reforms would speed case processing by about a fifth and are necessary because Crown Court caseloads are projected to reach 100,000 by 2028 from a backlog near 78,000. Senior Labour MP Karl Turner called the announcement dishonest and undemocratic, blamed poor court facilities and failing technology for delays, and urged ministers to abandon the proposal or face a humiliating climbdown.
Read at www.bbc.com
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