DAVID Lammy says he stands for “victims, not traditions” as he rips up centuries-old rights to a trial by jury.
The Justice Secretary will today announce controversial reforms to tackle the crown court backlog.
They will include judge-only cases, which will strip defendants of the right to choose a jury trial for offences carrying prison sentences of less than five years.
Magistrates will also be able to jail offenders for up to two years, instead of just one.
The plans — revealed in leaked memo last week — have sparked an outcry from opposition parties, judges, solicitors and free speech campaigners.
Mr Lammy told The Sun he wants to end the “invisible emergency” paralysing courts and put victims first.
He said: “If someone is raped tonight, they could face waiting years for their attacker to be hauled into court.”
He warned the crown court backlog is now close to 80,000 cases and could hit 100,000 by 2028 without drastic action.
Mr Lammy added: “I will set out the reforms needed to deliver the faster justice victims deserve. It’s going to take bold ideas. Jury trials will always stay at the heart of British justice.
“But let’s be honest, only three per cent of trials go in front of a jury, because magistrates have done the bulk of criminal work for centuries.
“I stand on the side of victims, not traditions.”
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “David Lammy previously defended jury trials. Now he’s completely abandoned his principles.”
FIGHT FOR THIS RIGHT
By Toby Young of the Free Speech Union
THE proposal to scrap the right to trial by jury is extremely concerning.
We analysed speech-crime acquittal rates and the results were startling.
For all offences, crown court juries acquitted 21.6 per cent of the time in the last eight years, compared to 11.4 per cent in magistrates courts.
But for speech-related cases, jury acquittals were 27.6 per cent, with 15.9 per cent at magistrates.
If the right to trial by jury is scrapped, you’ll be much more likely to get banged up for exercising your right to free speech.
For anyone who cares about English liberty, particularly free speech, we must fight this proposal.
