Justice secretary David Lammy’s proposed reforms to curb jury trials could see defendants facing prison who earn less than £37,500 priced out of free legal support, the government’s equalities statement has revealed.
Defendants whose cases are heard in the Crown court are currently eligible for legal aid if their annual salary is below £37,500. However under the Courts and Tribunals Bill more cases will be heard in the magistrates’ court, where defendants are entitled to legal aid only if they earn less than £22,325.
Lammy’s bill would lead to more cases being retained in the magistrates’ court because it removes the right of a defendant charged with a triable either-way offence to opt for a trial in the Crown court. It also removes the requirement for the defendant’s consent if the Crown court remits the case back to the magistrates’ court and increases magistrates’ sentencing powers to 18 or 24 months.
The £37,500 income threshold would apply to defendants whose cases are heard by judge alone in the new Crown Court Bench Division.
The equalities statement adds: ‘When considering the demographic makeup of legal aid clients who may be particularly affected by this policy change, there is a high proportion of unknown ethnicity data for legal aid clients. The data therefore does not allow us to draw conclusions as to whether any ethnic group is under or over-represented in the legal aid client population, and whether they will be more impacted by this change. We are working with partners across the [criminal justice system] to improve the availability of ethnicity data from underlying administrative systems to ensure that ongoing analysis is robust.’
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