Government drops jury trial shake-up but presses ahead with wider court reforms

Bethany Wren (she/her) is head of content and events at LawCareers.Net

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The government has abandoned its plans to expand judge-only trials in the Crown Court while pressing ahead with wider reforms designed to tackle the criminal courts backlog. The changes will be introduced through the Courts and Tribunals Bill, which is expected to return to parliament in the coming weeks.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said proposals that would’ve allowed some additional criminal cases to be heard without a jury had been dropped following concerns raised by the legal profession and others. As a result, serious criminal cases will continue to be heard before juries, which the MoJ described as the “cornerstone of British justice”.

However, ministers are continuing with several other recommendations intended to ease pressure on the courts. These include giving magistrates greater sentencing powers, allowing complex and lengthy fraud and financial cases to be heard by a judge alone, and removing a defendant’s automatic right to elect a jury trial in certain cases. Under the proposals, courts would have the final say on where eligible cases are heard.

The government also pledged further investment in technology, judicial resources and court modernisation. Justice Secretary Alex Norris said that “justice delayed is justice denied” and reiterated the government’s commitment to reducing delays across the criminal justice system.

The decision to retain jury trials was welcomed by  the Law Society and the Bar Council, both of which had strongly opposed wider use of judge-only trials. Law Society President Mark Evans said it was “common sense” for the government “to step back from some of its proposed changes to jury trials that risked fairness and public trust”.

He added that the criminal justice system needed sustained funding, long-term planning and greater investment in legal aid, while warning that sending more cases to magistrates’ courts without increasing capacity could worsen existing backlogs.

The Bar Council likewise praised the decision to retain jury trials, with Chair Kirsty Brimelow KC describing it as a “significant and welcome move”. However, the body raised concerns about other aspects of the reforms, including increasing magistrates’ sentencing powers and ending defendants’ right to elect jury trials.

Brimelow also argued that magistrates’ courts are already struggling with growing caseloads and warned that the proposals could deepen existing inequalities, noting that women, Black people, mixed-race people and older people are more likely than other groups to choose jury trials.