David Lammy defends proposed cut in jury trials after Bar Council criticism

Justice Secretary David Lammy says “our justice system has fallen behind the world it now serves” as the controversial Courts and Tribunals Bill reaches a second reading in the House of Commons.

The Government has said it will drop jury trials for offences with a likely prison sentence of three years or less, but a letter organised by the Bar Council and signed by hundreds of judges, barristers and lawyers said “the proposals are based on little evidence”.

The reforms are set to introduce judge-only trials for some types of offences, scaling back the right for a defendant to stand trial in front of a jury in an effort to cut the backlog.

The Conservatives are set to force a vote to try to block the second reading in Parliament on Tuesday.

However, writing in the Telegraph, Mr Lammy insisted “justice delayed becomes justice denied” as he defended the proposed changes.

Mr Lammy said: “Across Britain today, too many victims endure the same ordeal. For them, justice delayed becomes justice denied. When that happens, offenders are left free to roam our streets, and more victims are created.

“The scale of the crisis is stark. In 2019, around 38,000 cases were waiting to be heard in the Crown Court. Today, that figure has almost doubled to nearly 80,000.”

The Government’s overhaul of the justice system would also see the Ministry of Justice ramp up use of artificial intelligence (AI) in courts to cut backlogs and rape victims get free legal advice throughout the criminal justice process as part of plans to make the experience less traumatic.

Mr Lammy continued: “The reality is that our justice system has fallen behind the world it now serves. The modern Crown Court was created in 1971, when evidence might consist of a grainy photograph, a handful of witness statements, and complex trials lasted a week.

“Today, a single case can involve mountains of digital material. A single smartphone can contain tens of thousands of messages and years of location data, all to be analysed and tested in court.

“At the same time, serious violence and sexual offences are being reported in higher numbers, and police are making more arrests – piling pressure on courts already stretched to their limits.

“That is why we are pulling every lever available to get justice moving again: investment, modernisation and reform.”

In a letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, thousands of legal professionals including former director of public prosecutions Sir David Calvert-Smith said: “We write in our capacity as legal professionals with extensive experience of working in courts across England and Wales at all levels and in all jurisdictions, to request that you rethink proposals to remove jury trials for cases with anticipated sentences of up to three years’ imprisonment.

“We fully support and share the Government’s aim of bringing down the backlog in the criminal courts and reducing delays between alleged offence and completion of the case. We have long warned that the criminal justice system is in crisis.

“Juries have not caused this crisis. In Part 2 of the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts (Leveson Review), Sir Brian Leveson states that ‘the most significant cause is chronic underfunding at every step’.

“Our opposition to curtailing jury trials is principled and pragmatic. Practically, the proposals are based on little evidence. Research by the Institute for Government details that the proposal for judge-only trials would save less than 2% of court time, if they are 20% faster, which is itself ‘highly uncertain’ (Leveson Review Part 1). We do not support the erosion of a deeply entrenched constitutional principle for negligible gain and with substantial risks.”