London
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For hundreds of years, Britons accused of substantial crimes have had the right to be tried by their peers in a court of law. But now as the country grapples with an acute backlog of cases waiting to be heard, the right to trial by jury is being curtailed, in what legal experts warn could lead to less fair rulings.
The reforms, announced by Britain’s Justice Secretary David Lammy earlier this month, will see the creation of a new, “swift” tier of jury-free courts, which will take on cases where defendants face sentences of up to three years. Such charges – including fraud, robbery and drug offenses – were previously heard by Britain’s Crown Courts, which handle serious…
