Justice Secretary Proposes Scrapping Jury Trials for Most Cases Amid Court Backlog
The UK Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is considering a proposal to eliminate jury trials in most criminal cases, a move intended to address a important backlog in the court system. As of the latest figures, 78,000 cases are currently awaiting trial, a number that continues to rise.
While the MoJ maintains “no final decision has been taken,” a spokesperson stated that “bold action” is needed to resolve the “crisis” causing “pain and anguish to victims.” The plan would see judges decide verdicts in the majority of cases, rather than a panel of jurors.
The proposal has drawn swift and widespread criticism from legal professionals and political opponents. Riel Karmy-Jones KC,chair of the Criminal bar Association,dismissed the idea as ineffective,stating,”What they propose simply won’t work – it is indeed not the magic pill that they promise…the consequences of their actions will be to destroy a criminal justice system that has been the pride of this country for centuries,and to destroy justice as we certainly know it.” Karmy-Jones attributed the backlog to “systematic underfunding and neglect” by successive governments.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch criticized the plans on X (formerly Twitter), arguing they “risks fairness, undermines public trust, and erodes the very foundation of our justice system.” Badenoch affirmed the Conservative party’s support for “trial by jury.”
Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Jess brown-Fuller MP labeled the plans “wholly disgraceful,” accusing the government of ”dismantling our justice system and failing victims.” She called for the government to “reconsider” the proposal “as a matter of urgency.”
Former judge Wendy Joseph KC described the proposal as an “absolutely essential change” to UK justice principles, adding that many judges would be “uncomfortable” with sole duty for verdicts.
Baroness Helena Kennedy, a Scottish Barrister and Labor Peer, argued that juries act as “a valve on the system” and that public participation in courtrooms is “a vital proponent” of justice, especially given “a crisis of trust in all our institutions.”
Lord Charles Falconer, a former justice secretary and Labour peer, highlighted the importance of public faith in the system’s ability to correctly convict the guilty and acquit the innocent, noting that a lack of clarity in acquittals erodes trust.
