Jury proposals will damage minorities' faith in justice

Trial by JURY: minority lawyer conference sends out warning

Government proposals to restrict the right to trial by jury will have a damaging effect on how ethnic minorities view justice in the UK, the annual minority lawyers conference heard last weekend.The consensus at the conference was that the right to jury trial should be protected.

Robert Brown, secretary of the London Criminal Court Solicitors Association, said it was 'vital'.

He explained: 'Juries are very good for public confidence, especially for ethnic minority defendants.

If they are abolished, or their work reduced, we will end up with a legal system that is perceived by ethnic minorities as even more white, even more male, and even more upper class.'His comments were backed by Law Society President MichaelNapier, who called for a post-election government commitment to preserving trial by jury.Mr Napier also called for the retention of a dual legal profession, the introduction of a mental incapacity bill, and government help with primary legislation on multi-disciplinary partnerships.He joined other speakers in attacking the government for giving lawyers a bad press, slating in particular former home secretary Jack Straw for his 'fat cat' jibes.'I would like to see the government refrain from denigrating lawyers with their cheap-shot criticisms,' Mr Napier said.Other issues raised at the conference included the merits of positive discrimination in light of the lack of ethnic minority faces in key positions in law firms and chambers.

Peter Herbert, vice-chairman of the Society of Black Lawyers, warned that London mayor Ken Livingstone might step in, and criticised the lack of representatives from City firms and chambers at the conference.Paula Rohan