Jury trials to be scrapped except for murder, rape and manslaughter

Justice Secretary David Lammy has written to officials suggesting only rape, murder and manslaughter cases might be heard by juries under deeply controversial plans to overhaul the courts system.

Mr Lammy, who is also deputy prime minister, wrote in a memo to other ministers and senior civil servants that there was 'no right' to jury trials in the UK and the move would not compromise a suspect's rights.

He added that rape, murder, manslaughter and 'public interest' cases would be heard by juries, while other lower offences would be heard by a judge.

The 'extreme' move is strongly opposed by lawyers, who view trial by jury as a cornerstone of English justice. 

Any attempt to reduce its use only to the most serious cases will also raise fears it could be abolished altogether.  

The Government is yet to respond to recommendations made by Sir Brian Leveson in a review of how to reform the courts system and cut the record-high crown court backlog.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'Jury trials will remain a cornerstone of our justice system for the most serious cases.

'No final decisions have been taken, but it is right that we ask whether there are cases that need not be heard by a jury.'

Under Sir Brian's recommendations, juries would be reserved to hear the most serious cases while other cases would be diverted to magistrates' courts or to the proposed Crown Court Bench Division for trials to be heard by judges.

Mr Lammy's memo was first reported by The Times.  

Last Thursday, the Guardian reported that the Government would seek to limit jury trials for thousands of cases.

Courts minister Sarah Sackman KC had told the paper: 'For me, the priority is swift justice, fair justice, over prioritising a defendant's right to choose where that trial is heard.'

Proposals to curb jury trials have faced opposition from legal professionals, including from the Bar Council, which argued 'there is no need to curtail the right to a trial by jury - from both a principle and practical position'.

Nearly three quarters of solicitors surveyed by the Law Society of England and Wales were concerned about jury trials being removed.

In his review, Sir Brian said reform of jury trials was 'merited' to address problems particularly with lengthy or complex trials.

'Reform to address these concerns will be likely to have positive impacts in terms of efficiency, by reducing the open caseload, and, in addition, in terms of financial savings,' he said.

Commenting on the reports, Law Society of England and Wales president Mark Evans said the 'extreme measure' on jury trials 'goes far beyond' recommendations made by Sir Brian.

'This is a fundamental change to how our criminal justice system operates and it goes too far,' he said.

'We have not seen any real evidence that expanding the types of cases heard by a single judge will work to reduce the backlogs.

'With a sensible combination of funding and structural change, the Government can solve the criminal courts backlog without resorting to extremes.'