Overview
- Justice secretary David Lammy told MPs he will create a Crown Court Bench Division where a single judge decides verdicts for cases likely to attract sentences of up to three years.
- Jury trials will be reserved for indictable-only offences such as murder, rape and manslaughter, with defendants in many either-way cases no longer able to elect a jury trial.
- Magistrates’ sentencing powers will rise to 18 months, certain appeals from magistrates will be limited to points of law, and judge-only trials will be introduced for complex fraud.
- The package includes £550 million for victim support over three years, more Crown Court sitting days and funding to train more criminal barristers.
- The government says roughly three-quarters of Crown Court trials will still use juries and that changes require legislation and years to implement, while the Law Society, Bar Council and Criminal Bar Association oppose the curbs and warn of risks including intimidation of lone judges; the measures apply to England and Wales only.