Government Plan to Scrap Jury Trials for Shorter-Sentence Crimes

Mace | 1st December 2025 | Politics

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Ministers plan to replace many jury trials with judge-only hearings for offences under three-year sentences, prompting strong criticism from lawyers and opposition parties.

The government has unveiled proposals to remove the right to a jury trial for defendants accused of offences likely to carry prison sentences of three years or less. Under the new plan, many “either-way” and less serious Crown Court cases will be heard by judges alone, while magistrates’ courts will see expanded sentencing powers, in a bid to clear an enormous backlog of criminal cases. Officials cite the mounting delays and stretched court resources as the key drivers behind the overhaul. Defendants currently charged with mid-range crimes such as theft, burglary, or lower-level assaults , offences that can carry sentences up to three years, will in future lose the automatic right to choose a jury trial. Courts will instead assign those cases either to a judge alone in the new Crown Court Bench Division or to magistrates where appropriate. More serious crimes , including murder, rape, manslaughter and other indictable-only offences, will continue to be tried by juries. The plan extend...

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