David Lammy prepares to face MPs over plans to scrap thousands of jury trials, warning that a “courts emergency” that would exceed 100,000 pending cases without radical reforms could leave victims waiting years for justice.
The Justice Secretary last week proposed reducing the backlog of cases in England and Wales by 78,000 by allowing jury trials only for serious crimes such as murder, rape and manslaughter.
In a further announcement, Lammy pledged a £550m investment over three years to support victims and witnesses preparing to appear in court.
Lammy was accused by leading barristers and pressure groups of making room for “further abuses of justice”. A leaked letter from the Justice Secretary last Tuesday outlined radical proposals which would mean juries would only deliver verdicts on public interest offences, which carry a prison sentence of more than five years.
Preparing to make a statement in the Commons on Tuesday, Lammy said: “Today I am devoting time to the court emergency which has left victims of the most serious crimes waiting years for justice and brought the justice system to the brink of collapse.
“For many victims, justice delayed is often justice denied. Some abandon the process, while others do not trust that justice will be served if they report a crime, and perpetrators are never held accountable.
“The system we have inherited has resulted in a backlog in the Crown Court with the number of pending cases set to reach 100,000 by 2028. This simply cannot happen – we must be bold.”
Lammy is expected to announce the government’s response to recommendations made by Sir Brian Leveson to change the courts system and tackle the backlog in July.
Leveson suggested transferring more crimes to magistrates’ courts or a new intermediate court, called the Crown Court Bench Division, where a judge would hear cases alongside two ordinary magistrates.
Juries will be reserved to hear the most serious cases and lesser “anyhow” crimes when a judge deems it appropriate.
According to a leaked Ministry of Justice document, Lammy plans to “go even further than Sir Brian to achieve maximum influence”. The document said Lammy wanted to “introduce hearings by a judge alone for cases involving fraud and financial crimes – if the judge considers the case suitably technical and lengthy. There would be exclusions for rape, murder, manslaughter and the public interest.”
Lammy is expected to draw up a plan to increase control for judges over how they handle cases and create a faster path for lower-level cases, like in Canada, where only judges hear cases.
The proposals have faced opposition from parliamentarians and legal professionals, including the Criminal Bar Association and the Bar Council, which stated that “from both a theoretical and a practical position – there is no need to curtail the right to trial by jury”.
The Law Society of England and Wales said it had seen no “real evidence” it would work to reduce the backlog. Criminal barrister Keir Monteith Casey, who has raised issues of institutional racism to help get the convictions of young black men overturned, said: “Lammy’s 180-degree U-turn to replace juries with judges is not only unconstitutional and politically naive, but it will create further injustice and miscarriages of justice for black and minority ethnic defendants.”
According to the MOJ, approximately half of the cases in the backlog relate to alleged violent and sexual crimes, and only 3% of criminal cases are currently heard with a judge and jury.
As part of the announcement, £550 million will also be given to victim support services over the next three years to help survivors and witnesses through the justice process, such as counseling and advice on attending court.
The late Victims’ Commissioner Helen Newlove repeatedly raised concerns about victims’ services and said in October that “support can be the difference between a victim being engaged in the justice process or being turned away from it”.
The watchdog’s annual survey of victims found that less than half of respondents were confident that the criminal justice system was effective or that they could get justice by reporting a crime.
Incoming Victims’ Commissioner Claire Waxman welcomed the move to cut the backlog of cases but warned that funding for victims’ services would not be a “silver bullet”.
She added, “We have seen the wait for justice stretch from months to years as the unacceptable has become the accepted norm. It is 2025, yet I sit with victims who are waiting for trial dates in 2030. Victims can be forgiven for asking if they are being punished, not the perpetrator.
“While this announcement provides much-needed stability, the amounts pledged are not a silver bullet for the broader crisis facing the region.”
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