Jury trials: what the UK government’s plan to limit them would mean for victims, defendants and courts

By Daniel Alge, Senior Lecturer in Criminology & Criminal Justice, Brunel University of London

Justice secretary David Lammy has announced one of the most significant changes to criminal justice in England and Wales in decades, by scrapping the use of jury trials for most offences that carry a likely jail sentence of less than three years.

Under the proposals, only the most serious offences such as murder, robbery and rape would continue to be tried by a jury. Most other cases would be heard by a judge alone. The reforms will also include creating new “swift courts”…

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