"David Lammy, the deputy PM and justice secretary, will today unveil plans to slash the use of jury trials in England and Wales. With the backlog of cases due to be heard in courts already at 78,000, and heading for 100,000, Lammy will argue that drastic action is needed to handle a courts emergency. The full details will not be unveiled until Lammy stands up in the Commons."
"In July Sir Brian Leveson, a senior judge, published a report for the government recommending that either way offences, where the defendant can currenly choose between having the case heard by a magistrate, or by a jury in a crown court, should instead by heard in a new system, with a judge sitting with two magistrates. According to the Times, Lammy proposes to go even further than Leveson proposing that these cases should be heard by judges sitting alone."
"Last week it emerged that he circulated a paper to colleagues proposing that jury trials should be abolished for all cases except those involving alleged rapists and killers. That generated a colossal backlash, and Lammy has reportedly had second thoughts. When Downing Street responded to the leak last week by saying no final decision had been taken, for once that phrase turned out to be true."
David Lammy, deputy PM and justice secretary, will unveil plans to reduce use of jury trials in England and Wales. The courts backlog stands at about 78,000 cases and is heading toward 100,000, prompting claims that drastic action is needed. Sir Brian Leveson recommended that either-way offences be heard by a judge with two magistrates rather than by jury. Lammy reportedly proposes going further, with judges sitting alone for those cases. A leaked paper suggested abolishing jury trials for all but alleged rapists and killers, triggering a colossal backlash and apparent second thoughts. Lammy says he will not announce scrapping jury trials.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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