David Lammy is expected to set out once-in-a-generation proposals to reduce defendants’ access to trials by jury – a move that some lawyers have branded an ‘assault’ on liberty
David Lammy will today announce controversial plans to overhaul the courts system to stop victims waiting years for justice.
The Deputy PM – who is also the Justice Secretary – is expected to set out once-in-a-generation proposals to reduce defendants’ access to trials by jury – a move that some lawyers have branded an “assault” on liberty.
Under the changes, juries would decide only murder, rape or manslaughter cases, with the majority of cases to be heard by a judge alone.
Ahead of an announcement in Parliament today, Mr Lammy last night sought to shift the focus to victims. He announced more than half a billion pounds for vital support for victims and witnesses over the next three years.
The historic £550million package will be invested into specialist services that offer practical and emotional support, such as counselling and advice on attending court.
Mr Lammy said: “Today I am calling time on the courts emergency that has left victims of the most serious crimes waiting years for justice and pushed the justice system to the brink of collapse.
READ MORE: David Lammy says Labour inherited ‘courts emergency’ amid plans to axe most jury trials
“For many victims, justice delayed is often justice denied. Some give up on the process, while others have no confidence justice will be served if they report a crime, and perpetrators never held to account. This simply cannot go on – we must be bold.”
Currently, almost 80,000 cases are waiting to be heard in the Crown Courts – where the most serious trials take place. The backlog has left victims waiting in angst for trial dates that are sometimes scheduled up to four years in the future.
In July, Sir Brian Leveson’s landmark review into the courts system recommended that some people charged with more serious crimes should lose their automatic right to a trial by jury.
He proposed that more than 150 offences – such as sexual grooming, child abduction or causing death by careless driving – should be tried in a new courts division, with two magistrates and a judge, instead of in front of a jury.
But the Government’s response to the review is expected today to go well beyond his recommendations, with plans for many cases to be heard by a judge alone.
Some senior criminal justice figures have warned it could lead to “star chamber” justice, referring to the Star Chamber which sat between the 15th and 17th centuries and had judges hearing cases alone.
The Law Society’s Richard Atkinson said last night(MON): “We await the government’s proposals on reducing jury trials to see if they go beyond Sir Brian Leveson’s recommendations, which were already an uncomfortable compromise.”
Responding to the new funding settlement for victim services, incoming Victims’ Commissioner Claire Waxman OBE said: “While this announcement provides much-needed stability, the sums pledged are not a silver bullet for the wider crisis facing the sector.
“Ultimately, these services are crucial to a victim’s recovery – and they will be just as essential to the recovery of the justice system as a whole.”
