Right to jury trial under threat as Leveson asked to carry out ‘once in generation’ review of courts

Sir Brian Leveson will lead a comprehensive review of the courts system in England and Wales to address the growing backlog of cases, with a focus on potential reforms such as removing the right to a jury trial for certain offenses and empowering magistrates to issue longer sentences. The review, set to report in the spring of 2025, comes in response to increasing delays in court proceedings, including a nearly fourfold increase in delayed murder trials and victims of rape waiting an average of 48 months for their cases to be heard. Despite a Conservative promise to reduce the backlog, the number of outstanding Crown Court cases has nearly doubled since before the pandemic, now standing at 73,105.

Full Article