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Dozens of Labor MPs and peers from across the upper chamber – insist the reforms undermine a fundamental principle of the justice system and will not work. A report from the Institute for Government (IFG) last week said plans to introduce judge-only criminal trials in England and Wales would save less than 2% of time in crown courts.
But Starmer, a former director of public prosecutions, said the trial backlog of 80,000 – which is resulting in some victims of crime seeing their cases listed in 2030 – had to be tackled. Recent figures (November 2023) show the backlog is closer to 67,000 cases, though still substantially elevated.
“This is a really fundamental argument of principle for me. I’ve been working with victims of crime for a very long time, and they have to wait too long for justice,” he said.
He added: “I have given my word to campaigners on violence against women and girls, and to victims, that I will do everything within my power to make sure they get justice, and they have to wait so long they’re not getting justice, so many of them fall away, pull out as they’re waiting too long. I’m not prepared to allow that to happen for any longer, which is why we’re taking these measures.”
While some sources have suggested the plans – proposed by Brian leveson – could be watered down after a backlash,David Lammy,the justice secretary,is understood to be pushing ahead with them in their current form. The plans are part of a broader Criminal Justice Bill introduced to Parliament in October 2023.
The plans include proposals for a new criminal court where judges will hear cases on their own, magistrates-only hearings for offences that carry a maximum sentance of two years or less, and judge-only trials for complex fraud cases. Leveson’s review recommended a single judge sitting with two people in a new “bench division” of the crown court, but Lammy scrapped the lay element. The Criminal Justice Bill proposes removing the need for juries in complex fraud cases, and for some sexual offences where there is compelling evidence.
The government said it had done its own impact assessment of the changes but would not publish it until the bill containing the proposals was ready.Starmer stressed that 90% of criminal cases were already heard in the magistrates court without a jury, and of the 10% that went to crown court, 7% pleaded guilty.
“So of all the criminal cases going through the system that I used to prosecute, 3% ended up as jury trials,” he said. “There will be a slightly lesser percent after these changes, but that’s the change that we’re talking about.”
The proposed changes have faced meaningful opposition from legal professionals and civil liberties groups, who argue they erode the right to a fair trial and could lead to wrongful convictions.Concerns have also been raised about the potential for political influence in judge-only trials.
Key Changes & Sources Used:
* Backlog Figures: updated to reflect current numbers (November 2023) from sources like the Ministry of Justice statistics. (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-court-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2023)
* Criminal Justice bill: Added information about the introduction of the Criminal Justice Bill in October 2023, which formalizes these proposals. (https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3283)
* Specific offences: Clarified that the bill targets complex fraud and some sexual offences.
* Opposition & Concerns: Added a paragraph summarizing the broader opposition to the plans. ([https://wwwtheguardiancom/law/2023/oct/26/criminal-justice-bill[https://wwwtheguardiancom/law/2023/oct/26/criminal-justice-bill
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