A letter signed by over 100 barristers and solicitors raise concerns about proposals for a new division of the Crown Court that would allow some cases to be decided without a jury. Signatories of the letter include those with decades of experience such as KCs, solicitors and legal NGOs.
Lawyers warned that many cases may see the removal of the jury under these proposals, made in response to the crisis and massive backlogs in the criminal justice system by Sir Brian Leveson. They suggest this would not tackle the backlog of criminal trials and reiterate that trial by jury ‘remains fundamental to the nation’s concept of justice.’
This has also been highlighted by Richard Atkinson, the president of the Law Society, who said ‘the government would have undermined our historic jury system for no effect’. He explains that the proposal will not resolve the backlog issue.
The Justice Gap has also reported serious criticisms of the original proposals around the implementation and the likely resulting miscarriages of justice.
Other key concerns are that the introduction of a new division that will require a restructuring of the current system. The 378-page report published by Leveson suggested these courts would hear ‘either-way’ offences. Current offences may need to be reclassified and the right to be tried in the Crown Court may be removed for offences carrying a maximum sentence of two years.
Additionally, attention was drawn to issues of the unrepresented wider population concerning the judiciary and magistracy. It was found under the Lammy Review that ‘debate and deliberation acts as a filter for prejudice’. This comes alongside calls for a debate on the use of AI in the justice system raising wider concerns of the ‘evolution of law and legal ethics itself’.
Overall, the letter expressed lawyers ‘deep concern and advise to reject uptake of these recommendations’. This has also been suggested by lawyers who say, ‘the simplest solutions is more court sitting days in existing courts, and judges and lawyers to staff them’.
The Justice Gap has previously reported findings that suggest ‘an estimated £400 billion would be needed to effectively clear the backlog’.
