[REVISION HISTORY]

UK criminal justice reform and jury trial controversy

Updated 1 time since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-10-06 04:32 UTC → 2026-10-07 04:43 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The UK government has announced a reversal and scaling back of controversial plans to replace jury trials with judge-only proceedings in England and Wales. The original policy, introduced to address a criminal court backlog of approximately 81,000 cases, aimed to allow judges to preside over cases typically reserved for juries, specifically those likely to result in sentences under three years. Following backlash from legal professionals and the public regarding the erosion of the right to a trial by a jury of peers, the government has scrapped the plan for judge-only trials in the Crown Court. Instead, the revised proposals in the Courts and Tribunals Bill will focus on granting magistrates increased sentencing powers and allowing certain complex fraud and financial offences to be heard by a single judge. Additionally, the government intends to remove the right for defendants in certain ‘either-way’ offences to elect a jury trial in the Crown Court, leaving that decision to the courts. While legal groups like the Criminal Bar Association welcomed the U-turn, campaigners such as Defend Our Juries expressed caution, noting that the expanded role of magistrates may still impact jury availability. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has officially abandoned the specific measure that would have allowed judge-only trials for either-way cases with likely sentences of three years or less. Despite this reversal, ministers still intend to proceed with plans to increase the sentencing powers of magistrates and remove the defendant's right to choose a jury trial for certain offences.

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