Defendants should be allowed to ask for jury-free trials to reduce court backlogs, top judge says
Defendants should be allowed to ask for a jury-free trial to reduce court backlogs, a top judge has said.
Sir Brian Leveson, who is heading up a review set up by the government, is to propose a 'once in a generation' reform to tackle record court backlogs that would see the UK follow the likes of Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
He is to make the recommendation to tackle delays in the legal system, which has a current backlog of 75,000 cases, forcing victims to wait four to five years for justice in many cases.
Sir Brian told a conference: 'I can see the advantage in lots of cases. You will get a reasoned judgment [from a judge]. In front of a jury, you don't get a judgment at all, you get guilty or not guilty.
'The case will be undeniably speedier because the judge doesn't have to explain to the jury all the basic premises of the criminal law.'
Other reforms could include sparing the public from sitting as jurors in any case scheduled to last more than 12 months due to the disruption to their lives and careers, the Telegraph reports.
This could also apply to factually or legally complex cases, where jurors may struggle to understand the full details.
The right to a jury trial could also be restricted for lower level offences including assaulting a police officer while resisting arrest, dangerous driving and possession of drugs.
Instead, these crimes could be tried by a court comprising of a judge and two magistrates or by extending magistrates' powers to sentence offenders to up to two years in prison, double their current limit.
This would mean more cases could be dealt with at a magistrates' court, freeing up more space in the crown courts for more serious offences.
Speaking at the conference, Sir Brian warned that the backlog of cases could reach 100,000 if no radical action is taken.
He added he believes judges should have the right to overrule a defendant's request for a judge only trial if it is in the public interest.
'There are some cases, which I would not consider appropriate for a judge to try alone, and I would give the judge a discretion,' Sir Brian said.
'So a defendant may say, 'I would like to be tried by a judge alone', and the judge would be perfectly entitled to say, 'I think not'.'
Sir Brian is due to deliver his report next week to Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, with publication expected next month.
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