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7/9/2025, 10:32:38 AM
>Thousands of cases that would normally be heard in front of a jury should be decided by judges alone, according to recommendations made by a former senior judge.
>Sir Brian Leveson was asked by the Lord Chancellor to come up with a series of proposals to reduce the backlog of cases in the criminal courts.
>There are almost 77,000 cases waiting for trial in the Crown Court in England and Wales - meaning some defendants and victims are waiting years for justice.
>After reviewing the state of the criminal courts, Sir Brian suggested "fundamental" reforms to "reduce the risk of total system collapse". But some barristers argue juries are essential for fair justice - and scrapping them is wrong.
>To fix what he calls a broken system, Sir Brian has suggested having judge-only trials for certain cases such as fraud and bribery.
>Another recommendation involves having more out of court resolutions like cautions.
>He wants a new division of the Crown Court with two magistrates and a judge to handle less serious offences, and to increase the number of sentence reductions for guilty pleas at the first opportunity offered.
>This is all about shortening the process in the hope of cutting the big backlog.
>Sir Brian Leveson was asked by the Lord Chancellor to come up with a series of proposals to reduce the backlog of cases in the criminal courts.
>There are almost 77,000 cases waiting for trial in the Crown Court in England and Wales - meaning some defendants and victims are waiting years for justice.
>After reviewing the state of the criminal courts, Sir Brian suggested "fundamental" reforms to "reduce the risk of total system collapse". But some barristers argue juries are essential for fair justice - and scrapping them is wrong.
>To fix what he calls a broken system, Sir Brian has suggested having judge-only trials for certain cases such as fraud and bribery.
>Another recommendation involves having more out of court resolutions like cautions.
>He wants a new division of the Crown Court with two magistrates and a judge to handle less serious offences, and to increase the number of sentence reductions for guilty pleas at the first opportunity offered.
>This is all about shortening the process in the hope of cutting the big backlog.
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