Fix dire court system instead of dropping juries | Letters

Readers respond to an article by Michael Mansfield on the importance of juries I have been following the debate in parliament of the courts and tribunals bill . There are some good ideas in it, but removing jury trials is not one of them ( Juries want fairness in court and don’t just obey the government. That’s why ministers are attacking them, 17 March ). The choice is framed as either waiting a long time for trials or removing juries. This is a false choice. Everyone agrees that the wait for trials is far too long, but removing juries is not the way to solve the problem. Taking simple steps to tackle the problems in the system would be a better approach. The court administration system is dire, which directly causes the long delays. Every day in my practice as a criminal lawyer, I see courts listing three or four trials in a single court and all but one being adjourned as you cannot hear more than one trial at a time; interpreters not being booked by the court, which results in adjournments; prisoners not being brought to court or not being produced on video links; courts not notifying defence, prosecution or defendants of hearing dates; around a third of court rooms being closed; and not enough judges to hear cases. Continue reading...

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