Overview
- Justice Secretary David Lammy announced on 2 December that offences likely to carry sentences of up to three years would be tried by a single judge in new “swift courts.”
- Examples cited for judge‑only hearings include owning a dangerous dog, threats to kill and house burglary, with juries retained for the most serious crimes.
- Magistrates’ sentencing powers would rise from 12 to 18 months so more either‑way cases can be resolved without going to Crown Court.
- Opposition has grown from ex‑ministers, justice professionals and Blackburn MP Adnan Hussain, with public criticism focusing on perceived erosion of jury traditions, even as Magna Carta does not explicitly mandate juries.
- Supporters point to an almost 80,000‑case backlog and 4,283 defendant‑elected Crown Court trials in 2024/25, echoing Sir Brian Leveson’s view that funding alone will not fix systemic delays.