Statement on government proposals to restrict access to jury trials

“The right to trial by jury is an important factor in the delicate balance between the power of the state and the freedom of the individual. The further it is restricted, the greater the imbalance. Despite the inevitable increase in costs, the Haldane Society urges that there be a right of trial by jury in all criminal cases.” - Keir Starmer, Socialist Lawyer, Spring 1992.

The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers opposes the Government’s new proposal to remove the right to jury trial for certain cases. Two things are clear: the proposal would further erode the rights of the individual in an increasingly authoritarian society with an increasingly punitive state, and there is very little evidence that it would achieve the stated aims.  

The Haldane Society remains of the view – unlike our hypocrite Prime Minister who has time and again betrayed his younger self – that the jury system is a bulwark against the might of the State. The reasons why it is infinitely preferable to trial by judge alone are well rehearsed but no less compelling for that. The judicial class is no substitute for the diversity of experience of 12 of one’s peers.  Juries are also free from the ‘seen-it-all-before' cynicism that can infect magistrates and professional judges. This Prime Minister should know that better than anyone. It should be a matter of shame that under his Government protesters are increasingly criminalised; migrants demonised; and now the right to trial by jury imperilled. We call on our colleagues across the criminal Bar to resist these plans.

The criminal justice system suffered some of the deepest cuts of the austerity years which saw dozens of court closures and hundreds of lost sitting days. The real cause of the Crown Court backlog is the failure of successive Governments to adequately resource the so-called justice system, coupled with an ever-expanding repertoire of statutory offences which lead people to be dragged through the system.

The removal of the right to trial by jury will not remedy the backlog. It will not stop Serco from consistently failing to meet the terms of its government contract. It will not prevent court roofs from collapsing and courtrooms sitting empty while the government refuses to pay for adequate sitting days. It will not stop cases from being unable to go ahead due to the inability to find a barrister to prosecute or defend it, due to the drastic retention problems experienced by the criminal Bar.  

These proposals can and must be stopped and we will work with colleagues across the criminal justice sector in defeating these plans.