Your report (MoJ to remove right to trial by jury for thousands of cases in controversial overhaul, 20 November) confirms that next month the government will respond to the first part of the Leveson review into criminal courts, which includes the potential curtailing of the right to jury trial for certain offences through the introduction of a new intermediary court – the crown court bench division (CCBD).
The Bar Council welcomes many of the recommendations in Brian Leveson’s report, but we regard the introduction of an intermediary court as a time-consuming measure that requires legislative change and hinges on increasing court resources that could be better diverted to the existing estate.
The government claims that the new court promises to have significantly shrunk the 80,000 backlog by 2029. As this has not been piloted or thoroughly modelled, there is little evidence to support this claim.
The focus should be on fixing the swathe of inefficiencies plaguing the system, which could be resolved and make a real difference now. Courtrooms across the country are sitting empty, and prisoners do not arrive on time, so cases begin late or not at all. And when these obstacles are overcome the entire system from start to finish is riddled with problems due to a lack of basic resources. These problems will persist unless a long‑term plan is implemented.
The government should first test whether efficiency reforms to the crown court estate, prisoner escort and custody services, and court technology would make a difference before making any major constitutional change.
The criminal justice system is not in this crisis because of jury trials. At the very least, the CCBD should be modelled and piloted before doing away with a longstanding tradition, which may result in a further lack of trust and confidence in our criminal justice system.
Barbara Mills
Chair, the Bar Council
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