The Crisis in Our Criminal Courts: Why Jury Trials Aren’t the Problem
Last month, Sir Brian Leveson published Part II of his Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, focusing on how courts in England and Wales can operate efficiently. His findings reinforce what many legal professionals have long known: chronic underfunding and neglect have left our courts struggling to deliver justice.
“Successive governments’ neglect and underfunding of this crucial public service have degraded every element of it, leaving many victims and defendants having to wait until 2030 for justice,” said Richard Atkinson, immediate past president of the Law Society.
There are no corners left to cut.
The call for investment
Since Justice Secretary, David Lammy, suggested that abolishing trial by jury could be a solution to the post pandemic challenges facing the Criminal Justice System, there has been no shortage of debate. Many have shared their thoughts as to whether this is a necessary reform or a dangerous mistake. These are my thoughts - unpopular as they may be.
The reality of the Criminal Justice System
The Criminal Justice System is cumbersome and complex, made up of interconnected parts, none of which are perfect. It is convenient, though fundamentally incorrect, to blame the current Crown Court backlog on the constitutional right to trial by jury. Similarly, the idea of summoning jurors for weeks at a time might sound inconvenient, but the real causes of delay lie elsewhere.
Having recently served on a jury myself, I can attest that the waiting room was full of every day individuals who had attended punctually, nervously ready to serve their duty, only to wait hours on consecutive days without being called. The delays were not caused by jurors but by systemic inefficiencies.
The true causes of delay
The backlog stems from a series of external factors:
- A finite number of judges and sitting days
- Chaotic case listing, last-minute changes to dates, times, or venues
- Failings in case preparation, including prosecution disclosure delays
- The infrastructure for transporting prisoners from their facilities to court
- Availability of experts to prepare essential reports
- Availability of intermediaries to assist vulnerable court users and interpreters for those whose first language is not English.
Despite these challenges, it is the dedication of professionals and staff within the system that keeps the wheels of justice turning. They arrive on time, prepared, and committed, but are often confronted by a broken system.
At the heart of this failure are people. Victims, witnesses, jurors, court staff, legal professionals, and the families who support them all bear the cost of systemic inefficiency.
Governance and funding, not jury trials
The root cause of the delay is governance and funding, or, more accurately, the chronic lack of both, not the jury system.
Abolishing trial by jury could produce a final injustice; trials decided by a single decision maker who is not a career judge trained to assess evidence or determine facts. Our judiciary is populated by former advocates, experts in the procedure and application of law but not in fact finding.
The solution is clear: sustained investment in the system, better infrastructure, and adequate staffing, not a dismantling of the jury system that has long symbolised fairness and impartiality in justice.
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