Welsh minister ‘concerned’ by proposed jury trial restrictions

Chris Haines – ICNN Senedd reporter

Wales’ top lawyer has vowed to challenge Ministry of Justice proposals to limit appeal rights and scrap jury trials for crimes with a likely sentence of three years or less.

Julie James, who is counsel general, the Welsh Government’s chief legal adviser, committed to raising concerns with UK counterparts because justice is largely non-devolved.

Last week, the Ministry of Justice unveiled plans for judge-only “swift courts” in Wales and England to fast track cases to cut delays due to a backlog in the justice system.

Answering questions in the Senedd today (December 9), Ms James agreed with her Labour colleague Mick Antoniw who described the plans as the “wrong way to go”.

The former solicitor said she would raise the issue during a meeting of the inter-ministerial group (IMG) on justice, a UK-wide forum which she was due to chair later in the week.

Mr Antoniw told the Senedd: “I think this is the wrong way to go and will not solve the growing backlog problem. Jury trials have been a cornerstone of our justice system.

“Juries are a check and balance on judges, as well as a protection for the independence of the judiciary, and they give ownership to part of the judicial system into the hands of the people, so we restrict them at our peril.”

Mr Antoniw, a former trade union lawyer and counsel general, urged his successor to press for access to justice, investment in court infrastructure and the devolution of justice powers.

Ms James responded: “I personally am particularly concerned about the proposals to limit the rights of appeal from magistrates’ courts to points of law only at the same time as increasing magistrates’ sentencing powers.

“So, there are a number of things in the system that we will be raising at the IMG and more generally. Because although it is a reserved matter, of course it directly impacts on a number of things that are devolved.”

‘Outrage’

Rhys ab Owen, a former criminal barrister who sits as an independent, pointed to previous comments from David Lammy, the deputy prime minister and UK justice secretary.

He said: “’Jury trials are a fundamental part of the democratic settlement, criminal trials without juries are a bad idea… those aren’t my words – that’s a tweet written by David Lammy back in 2020.”

He argued the figures are skewed due to “huge” backlogs in big English cities.

Mr ab Owen was similarly concerned by proposals to limit rights of appeal as he recalled some “baffling” decisions made by magistrates.

He told Senedd members: “The truth is if this was a proposal by a Conservative government, there would be outrage in this place.”

Mr ab Owen also raised comments from Karl Turner, a Labour MP, who described the proposals as the “daftest idea” that any justice secretary could have come up with.

‘Hugely important’

Pressed on whether she agreed, Ms James said: “I agree that there are serious questions to be asked about the UK Government’s proposals… I also agree the right to trial by jury is a hugely important protection for defendants, I absolutely do.

“Victims need to be assured that justice is delivered effectively but in an unbiased way, and that the punishment fits the crime.”

She stressed that trial delays also impact victims, defendants and witnesses, so “it’s absolutely right to look at ways of speeding up that process”.

Ms James told Senedd members there are no significant delays in magistrates’ courts and crown court performance in Wales has consistently been considered among the best.

She explained trials in Wales are currently being listed into 2026 and 2027, compared with London where listings are currently well into 2030.

Criticising a “disappointing” lack of consultation before the announcement, the counsel general said: “These are proposals at the moment, there’s a long way until they become law [but] we will be making our feelings known on it.”