Trial by Jury

Trial by jury is one of the quiet pillars of our British constitution.

When the state accuses a citizen of a serious crime, guilt must be established not only before officials of the state, but before ordinary members of the public. That principle matters. It ensures that the immense power of the criminal law is exercised and constrained by the participation and consent of the community. This is the foundation of our magistracy- the principle that you are being judged by your peers.

The debate around the Labour Government’s proposed changes to jury trials therefore deserves serious attention. No one disputes the scale of the crisis in the criminal justice system. The Crown Court backlog has almost doubled since 2019, with nearly 80,000 cases waiting to be heard and trials being set at least a year from today. This means that victims are waiting too long for justice; defendants are waiting too long for resolution. Delays within the judicial system are rigorously checked as they undermines confidence in the system.

But recognising the problem does not mean every proposed solution is the right one.

More than 3,000 legal professionals- including hundreds of senior barristers and a former Director of Public Prosecutions- have now urged the Prime Minister to reconsider proposals to limit jury trials for cases carrying sentences of up to three years.

Simply- juries did not cause the backlog. The evidence consistently points elsewhere- inefficiencies within the court process, limited judicial capacity, operational failures in prisoner transport, and growing strain on the criminal bar.

Curtailing jury trials is treating the symptom rather than the cause because juries are not simply an inconvenient procedural feature of the system; they are a constitutional safeguard between the citizen and the state. They help maintain public confidence that justice is done not only by officials, but by the community itself.

Efficiency matters in any modern justice system. But efficiency should never come at the expense of the principles that give that system its legitimacy.

– Cllr Alex Yip

Shadow Cabinet Member for Social Justice, Community Safety and Equalities

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/mar/10/lawyers-urge-keir-starmer-rethink-plans-cut-jury-trials