Jury trials could be curbed under ‘bold, once-in-a-generation reforms’ to bring down the Crown court backlog, the lord chancellor today hinted after being grilled in parliament on Sir Brian Leveson's criminal courts review, which is expected to be published this week.
Lord chancellor Shabana Mahmood told MPs during justice questions this morning that publication of the review ‘is due very, very soon’.
Labour MP Adam Jogee told Mahmood that his constituents in Newcastle-under-Lyme want thugs and criminals held to account and feel the full force of the law, and for victims to get the justice they deserve. Jogee said the Crown court backlog had increased by over 3,000 cases since 2016. He asked when the Leveson report will be published and what it may mean in the future for jury trials.
Mahmood said the review was due 'very soon'.
On jury trials, she said: ‘They will remain a cornerstone of our justice system for the most serious cases but we do have to recognise that jury trials take five times longer than cases heard in magistrates' courts and magistrates’ courts already hear 90% of all criminal trials. With victims waiting so long for their day in court we must ask whether there are cases that are today being heard by juries that need not do so in the future.’
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