In a move that has sparked significant backlash, the UK government’s proposals to limit jury trials in England and Wales are facing potential alterations, the Guardian has learned. Senior government officials are reportedly discussing potential changes in an attempt to avoid a bruising fight in the House of Lords.
Justice Secretary David Lammy is understood to be pushing ahead with the plans in their current form, which include the creation of a new criminal court where judges will hear cases on their own in a bid to tackle the court backlog. However, officials are concerned that they may struggle to get the package through the upper chamber without making compromises, adding to a series of high-profile government U-turns.
One potential compromise is likely to involve changing the measures so that two lay people sit alongside judges in the so-called “swift courts,” as originally proposed by Brian Leveson in his recent review of the challenges facing the legal system in England and Wales. A government source said, “Generally going back to the Leveson proposals is where we would probably end up. And that would include having two lay magistrates sit with judges for trials.”
The proposed reforms, which would be the biggest shakeup of the English court system in a generation, would see defendants who are likely to receive a sentence of three years or less no longer entitled to a jury trial. Instead, a new judge-only “swift court” would be set up to hear cases without juries, and magistrates would be allowed to sentence people to a maximum of 18 months, up from the current 12 months.
Lammy has argued that the measures are necessary to halve the number of jury trials from 15,000 a year and tackle the backlog of court cases that built up during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has cited the Canadian system, where a single judge can give sentences of up to three years, as an example.
However, the justice secretary is facing significant backlash from the legal profession, dozens of Labour MPs, and peers from across the upper chamber. The Labour MP and former shadow attorney general Karl Turner has even threatened to stand down, triggering a by-election, unless the government scraps its plans.
Officials are understood to be more concerned about the reception in the House of Lords, where many recent pieces of government legislation have struggled. If the government does have to back down, they are likely to retreat to a position closer to that originally suggested by Leveson, whose proposals were strengthened in several significant areas.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said, “Only reform, combined with investment, will deliver swift and fair justice for victims. That’s why we are creating new swift courts, without magistrates and within the crown court, as well as investing millions in legal aid, the courts and increasing sitting days.”
