The British government has dropped plans to sharply restrict access to jury trials in less serious criminal cases following sustained opposition from the legal profession and political figures.
The abandoned proposal would have allowed many offences expected to attract sentences below three years to be tried by judges without juries.
Justice Secretary Alex Norris confirmed the reversal as the government grapples with a Crown Court backlog approaching 81,000 cases.
The Criminal Bar Association welcomed the decision, while maintaining that chronic underfunding and insufficient court capacity — rather than jury trials themselves — are key causes of delay.
The government is still pursuing some reforms, including expanded sentencing powers for magistrates and provision for limited judge-only trials in complex fraud cases.
The reversal is significant because jury trial occupies a historic place in the criminal-justice system of England and Wales. Critics feared that limiting it primarily to reduce case backlogs would sacrifice a longstanding procedural safeguard without addressing the structural causes of delay.
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SOURCE: Reuters — Britain Scraps Plans to Curb Jury Trials
