Lawyers delighted at reports of jury trial climbdown

Reports that the government is to abandon plans to abolish the right to jury trial in either-way offences have been welcomed by the profession.Several newspapers this week suggested that opposition from prominent cabinet members has led to the scrapping of plans to create a middle-tier court to oversee either-way offences, and to remove a defendant's right of election.Both proposals were condemned by lawyers when published in the review of the criminal justice system by Sir Robin Auld last October.'If the reports are true, it is pleasing that the widespread opposition throughout the legal profession has resulted in a change of heart,' said Graham White, chairman of the Law Society's criminal law committee.

'An increase in magistrates sentencing powers, in conjunction with the retention of a defendant's rights, would result in the savings in time and money the government desires.'Rodney Warren, chairman of the Criminal Law Solicitors Association, said: 'The prospect of a middle-tier court was interesting, but uncosted, and would have been very expensive to establish.

We have always been against any restrictions on a defendant's right to elect a jury.'He said, if approached with caution, the introduction of formalised plea-bargaining was 'a far more effective way of dealing with the high number of cases unnecessarily going to the Crown Court'.Bar Council chairman David Bean QC said: 'If the government is going to retreat on these proposals, then both the bar and Labour backbenchers will widely welcome it.'A Home Office spokeswoman said 'no decisions have been taken as of yet' and that 'none would be until the consultation period finishes at the end of this month'.Law Society President David McIntosh said: 'We welcome any re-think on the recommendations by Lord Justice Auld that the right to jury trial should be limited.

We have campaigned vigorously against [it] and are pleased that they appear to have heeded our warnings.'Andrew Towler