Doughty Street Chambers’ response to proposals to curtail trial by jury

Trial by jury is a deeply entrenched constitutional principle and anchors our liberal democracy. Jury trials enable people to participate and have a say in their criminal justice system. We are firmly opposed to the proposals to remove trial by jury for all but the most serious of crimes. These proposals are wrong in principle, and there is no evidence that they will resolve the current Crown Court backlog. Anyone who works within the criminal justice system will know that the problems have been caused by chronic underfunding over a number of years. In rejecting these proposals we fully support the stance taken by the Criminal Bar Association and the Bar Council.