One of the foundational documents for America, is the Magna Carta, which along with the Charter of the Forest, establish an oft unheralded blessing of the rule of law. In particular in included the provision for the “lawful judgement of his peers” before a free person could be punished, and more broadly to prevent an executive authority from dominating trials and the judgement of justice.
This has been preserved, for over eight centuries in the United States, and enshrined in our Constitution via the 6th Amendment.
This had been preserved for over eight centuries in England… until now.
“Ministers have proposed to end the right to a jury trial for a vast range of criminal offences in England and Wales, as they grapple with a huge backlog of cases that is delaying hearings by more than a year in many instances.
“Under the shake-up, juries would be scrapped for all cases expected to attract a prison sentence of five years or less, with defendants barred from asking for a jury trial, as they can at present for many offences.
“Cases that can currently go before either a judge sitting alone or a jury would all be heard in a new ‘bench division’ of crown courts, with a judge sitting alone.
“Juries would also be scrapped in lengthy or complex trials such as fraud cases. However, lengthy and complex trials involving rape, murder or manslaughter, or where there was a special public interest element, would still go before a jury.
“The proposals were set out in a memo by justice secretary David Lammy, seen by the Financial Times.
“Lammy’s plans go far beyond proposals set out in July by retired High Court judge Sir Brian Leveson, who called for the end of the right to jury trial for a far more limited range of offences.”
Ironically, those pushing for this attack on the right to trial by jury cite the Manga Carta to do say by claiming the abolition of one part of the Magna Carta (jury trials) is necessary to fulfill the prohibition on the crown from the duty to not “deny, or delay right or justice to anyone”… even though those denials and delays are entirely the fault of the state in question!
