This week I attended an important drop-in session in Parliament with the Bar Council and the Criminal Bar Association to discuss proposals to reduce the right to trial by jury.
It was valuable to hear directly from criminal barristers with frontline experience about the pressures facing our justice system, the court backlog, and crucially, how we can improve outcomes for victims without eroding a fundamental constitutional right.
Good policy comes from serious engagement, and tonight’s discussions underlined the need for solutions that are workable, sustainable, and rooted in justice.
The Government simply must rethink their plans to scrap jury trials for so many.
