Lammy Prepares to Announce Plans to Cut Down Number of Jury Trials
The government is gearing up to reveal major changes to how criminal cases are handled in England and Wales, with David Lammy preparing to scale back the use of juries in trials in an attempt to deal with record delays in the courts.
Lammy, who will outline the plans in Parliament, says juries will remain a “fundamental part of the criminal justice system”, but the proposals still mark one of the biggest shake-ups in decades. After internal memos were leaked last week, speculation has grown about how far the government intends to go — and whether Cabinet has already pushed Lammy to water down the most radical ideas.
Right now, more than 78,000 Crown Court cases are waiting to be completed, and officials warn that that number could climb past 100,000. Some victims in serious cases, including rape, are being told that their trials may not begin until 2028 or 2029. Lammy says the system has reached a “courts emergency”, with long waits leaving victims traumatised and many abandoning cases altogether.
Under the approach he is expected to set out, jury trials would still be used for murder, manslaughter, rape, and other cases likely to carry heavier sentences, but more “either-way” offences — such as lower-level assaults, thefts, or drug cases — could be heard by magistrates or in judge-only hearings. Lammy has said the idea he is considering is similar to the recommendation by retired judge Sir Brian Leveson, who suggested that offences which are likely to attract sentences of up to three years should move out of the jury system.
The leaked memo went further, hinting at a threshold of more than five years for jury trials. Lammy hasn’t confirmed that version, and he has pointed to “cabinet feedback” shaping the final decision. When pressed on the leak, he called it “regrettable” but didn’t deny that discussions inside the government were being tested in public.
Critics from across the legal world say cutting back jury trials won’t fix the backlog. Former resident judge Chris Kinch KC said juries help keep communities connected to the justice system, adding you’d need a powerful reason to replace them. The Criminal Bar Association has also argued that underfunding — not jury trials — created the crisis. Riel Karmy-Jones KC called the proposals an “untested” layer of complexity that risks making things worse.
The Law Society went even further, branding the idea an “extreme measure” without evidence it would ease delays. Others raised concerns about fairness, with some saying judge-only trials could create new problems for defendants from minority backgrounds.
Meanwhile, the opposition has accused Lammy of abandoning long-held principles. Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick claimed Labour has worsened the backlog and that Lammy should focus on fixing the courts rather than “depriving British citizens of ancient liberties.”
Lammy insists the aim is to save jury trials, not scrap them — and says reform is needed to stop the courts from collapsing altogether. Alongside the structural changes, he is expected to announce £550m for victim support over the next three years, plus funding to attract new criminal barristers.
