Mobile phone thieves should not be able to demand trial by jury which could delay rape and other serious cases, David Lammy has suggested.
The Justice Secretary was announcing plans to free up crown courts to deal with serious crimes swiftly and hand more support to victims as part of moves to deal with the huge backlog in cases.
Mr Lammy, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, was laying out reforms to overhaul the system on Tuesday, amid reports jury trials could be limited to the most serious offences such as rape and murder.
The move to give victims the “swift justice they deserve” comes amid a record-high backlog of crown court cases totalling more than 78,000, and trials listed as far as 2030.
Ministers have warned the backlog could rise to 100,000 by 2028 if nothing is done, with a growing number of victims giving up on seeking justice because of the lengthy delays.
Faced with a backlash against the reforms, Mr Lammy insisted juries remain “fundamental” as he was expected to set out plans to curb their use to tackle the backlog of cases in courts.
He told BBC Breakfast he was looking at expanding magistrates’ powers for them to take on more serious cases and whether defendants in “either way” cases should be able to choose to have a jury trial.
He stressed that there was this group of cases where people could be jailed for up to five years.
“Generally speaking, they’re called triable either-way cases, and also where a defendant can opt to have a jury, and I’m looking at that,” he explained.
“What I mean by that is, if you steal an iPhone this afternoon from Currys, should you be able to opt to have a jury?
“The trial may take two days, and inevitably, that will cause further delay for more serious and egregious crimes like rape or murder.
“So that’s the question that I’ve been looking at and that’s what I’ll be announcing later on today.”
He emphasised that the reforms were needed to deal with a “courts emergency”.
He was unveiling the Government’s response to recommendations made by Sir Brian Leveson in July to reform the courts system and tackle the backlog, which include diverting more offences to magistrates’ courts or to a new intermediate court where a judge would hear cases with two lay magistrates.
The former senior judge called for juries to be reserved to hear the most serious cases, of “indictable-only” such as murder, rape and manslaughter, and lesser “either way” offences when a judge deems it appropriate.
He also called for judge-only trials to be used in serious and complex fraud cases, or other complex cases determined by a judge.
The Justice Secretary is expected to set out plans to boost control for judges on how to handle cases, and create faster routes for lower-level cases like in Canada, which has judge-only trials.
Proposals to curb jury trials have faced opposition from MPs and legal professionals, including from the Criminal Bar Association and the Bar Council, which argued “there is no need to curtail the right to a trial by jury - from both a principle and practical position”.
Reports of Mr Lammy considering restricting jury trials further than Sir Brian’s recommendations have faced a backlash as an “extreme measure” by the Law Society of England and Wales, which has not seen any “real evidence” it will work to reduce the backlog.
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick accused Mr Lammy of abandoning his principles while in Government having previously defended juries.
“This year alone 21,000 court sitting days have been missed and the court backlog is up 10% on their watch,” he said.
“Instead of depriving British citizens of ancient liberties, David Lammy should get his own department in order.”
According to the Ministry of Justice nearly half of the cases in the backlog are over violent and sexual offences, and only about 3 per cent of criminal cases are currently heard with a judge and a jury.
As part of the announcement, £550 million will also be given to victim support services over the next three years to help survivors and witnesses through the justice process, such as through counselling and advice on attending court.
