The London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association (LCCSA) is deeply concerned by reports that the Ministry of Justice/David Lammy intends to remove the right to trial by jury for certain cases. Such a reform represents a profound and troubling shift in the criminal justice landscape, and we urge the government to withdraw these proposals immediately.

As set out in our response to the Leveson Review, the right to trial by jury is a fundamental component of fair trial rights. It is embedded in both our constitutional tradition and Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Jury trials ensure that decisions about guilt or innocence are taken not solely by the state, but by ordinary members of the public- a protection for citizens from professional judicial decision making. 

The LCCSA has already expressed clear concerns about the disproportionate harm that restricting jury trials will cause. In our response to the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, we set out that:

“The judiciary lacks diversity. Any reduction in the right to trial by jury risks worsened outcomes for minoritised individuals, including minority ethnic communities, women and the working class/individuals from deprived socio-economic environments.”

This is not theoretical. Juries, drawn from the community, are consistently more representative than the professional judiciary. Restricting access to jury trials removes an essential safeguard for groups who already face unequal outcomes in the criminal justice system. Concentrating more decision-making in a less representative forum risks entrenching those inequalities and eroding trust.

The suggestion, reported in The Guardian, that defendants are “gaming the system” by electing a jury trial is both inaccurate and dangerous. It frames a constitutionally protected choice as a form of manipulation. Defendants elect a jury trial because they are entitled to do so, especially where the consequences of conviction are serious and where confidence in the fairness of summary proceedings is limited. Defendants are innocent until proven guilty. 

The LCCSA rejects the implication that maintaining jury trials allows individuals to “laugh in the dock” or collapse cases through delay. Delays arise from structural failings - not from the proper exercise of fair trial rights. 

Removing jury trials purports to address the backlog, but the true drivers of delay are:

• chronic underfunding
• court closures and dilapidated estates
• shortages of judges, staff, advocates and probation officers
• disclosure failings
• the collapse of community services

None of these problems will be solved by removing juries. They require investment, planning and joined-up thinking - not the erosion of fair-trial protections.

Juries command public confidence because they involve the community directly in the administration of justice. Removing them from vast swathes of cases risks making the system less transparent, less representative, and less trusted.

At a time when confidence in state institutions is already strained, this proposal moves in entirely the wrong direction.

As our response sets out, meaningful and practical solutions exist:

• investment in early disclosure
• robust review of charging decisions
• diversion and restorative justice
• properly funded CPS, defence, courts and probation
• early intervention and community-based alternatives

The LCCSA urges the government to abandon proposals that would curtail the right to trial by jury. This is not a technical adjustment to process - it is a profound constitutional change that risks harming the most vulnerable, undermining public trust and eroding one of the central safeguards of our justice system.

We remain ready to work constructively on reforms that address the genuine causes of delay and urge the Ministry of Justice and Mr Lammy to meet with us directly to discuss these issues. However, we will vigorously oppose any attempt to weaken fundamental rights under the guise of administrative convenience.