Since the government announced its proposal to restrict the right to a jury trial in response to Sir Brian Leveson’s criminal courts review, the Bar of England and Wales has argued that justice needs juries. Now, the Four Bars of England and Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland have made a joint statement, urging the UK government to change course:
The Four Bars are deeply concerned that the UK government is planning to restrict the right to a jury trial in England and Wales. Being tried by a jury of one’s peers is a fundamental cornerstone of the criminal justice system in our respective jurisdictions. As Lord Judge CJ said in R v Twomey [2009] EWCA Crim 1035; [2010] 1 WLR 630, ‘trial by jury is a hallowed principle of the administration of criminal justice’.