Justice Secretary David Lammy is preparing major criminal-justice reforms that would reserve jury trials for only the most serious offences — including rape, murder and manslaughter — according to multiple media reports.
The Ministry of Justice says the overhaul aims to “put victims front and centre” and tackle a Crown Court backlog nearing 80,000 cases, which could reach 100,000 by 2028.
A memo from Lammy this month reportedly stated that juries would decide only a narrow category of grave offences, while most other cases carrying sentences of up to five years would be handled by a single judge. This goes further than the proposals of Sir Brian Leveson, whose review recommended limiting juries to serious cases but preserving a lay-magistrate element for mid-level trials.
Critics warn the shift could increase the risk of miscarriages of justice and racial bias, while Labour insists the system is in emergency mode, with some trials being scheduled as far away as 2030 and victims abandoning cases due to years-long delays.
Lammy said he refuses to allow victims to “suffer the way they did under the last government”, adding that “justice delayed is justice denied”. The MoJ argues that even with record courtroom utilisation, the current backlog cannot be cleared without structural reform: only 3% of criminal cases currently involve juries, while over 90% are already handled by magistrates.
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Conservatives sharply opposed the plan. Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick criticised the proposals as an erosion of “ancient liberties”, saying: “The right to be tried by our peers has existed for more than 800 years — it is not to be casually discarded when the spreadsheets turn red.” He urged Lammy to focus instead on using empty courtrooms and boosting sitting hours.
Further details of the reforms are expected later this week.
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