As reported in The Guardian, over 100 barristers and solicitors have written to the Lord Chancellor urging the Government to protect the right to trial by jury and focus on proven, practical measures to improve court efficiency.
The letter responds to Sir Brian Leveson’s recommendations made in the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts to create a new Crown Court Bench Division (CCBD) and expand judge-alone trials.
The lawyers, including many senior practitioners, warn that these measures would lead to the abolition of jury trial in a significant number of cases and would not improve the backlog of criminal trials.
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