Proposals to scrap jury trials for lesser offences were today criticised by the Law Society as ‘entirely wrong’.

Chancery Lane said that the ‘constitutional fabric’ of England and Wales would be put at risk if the proposal by the commissioner for victims Louise Casey is implemented.

Casey recommended that 70,000 Crown court cases per year should be heard in magistrates’ courts instead, saving an estimated £30m. She said that trial by jury should not be a right in either-way offences.

The Society said that a conviction for an offence of dishonesty, irrespective of value, has fundamental implications for a person’s job prospects, ability to obtain insurance, and right to travel freely, among many other potential consequences.

‘It would be entirely wrong if they did not have a right to jury trial before suffering such life-changing effects,’ the Society said.

Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson said: ‘Today’s proposal is one more example of disjointed and haphazard attempts to save money with apparently no guiding intelligence to safeguard justice.

‘Trial by jury is a fundamental right in cases where the defendant is at risk of imprisonment for a serious criminal offence or loss of their good reputation. Juries enhance the transparency of the court process and promote public confidence in the criminal justice system and the rule of law.

‘The centuries have proved that the jury system provides a fair and respected means of deciding guilt or innocence and we should be slow to reduce the number of jury trials just to save costs. There are some values that are above the issue of mere accounting and budgets.’