"Ministers will legislate to remove the right to trial by jury for thousands of cases in one of the biggest and most controversial overhauls of the justice system in England and Wales in generations promising the changes will significantly shrink the court backlog by 2029. The Ministry of Justice is braced for a backlash from barristers and the judiciary as it presses ahead with the measures to tackle a backlog of nearly 80,000 cases, which will create a proposed new judge-only division of the crown court to hear some cases."
"Sackman said victims of severe sexual assault were routinely told it could take four years for their cases to come to court. On the morning she spoke to the Guardian, the minister watched a bail hearing for a case involving severe sexual assault, one unlikely to come to a full trial until 2028. Some of the offences in the case, including strangulation, beating and nonconsensual sexual images, took place as far back as 2020."
Ministers will legislate to remove the right to trial by jury for thousands of cases, creating a new judge-only division of the crown court. The reform aims to significantly reduce a court backlog nearing 80,000 cases and to shrink waiting times by 2029. The measures respond to recommendations in a review by Sir Brian Leveson and are expected to provoke backlash from barristers and the judiciary. Severe sexual assault cases are taking years to reach trial, with victims routinely told waits of up to four years and particular cases unlikely to reach trial until 2028 for offences dating back to 2020. The changes are presented as necessary to prevent criminals exploiting long delays.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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