David Lammy has this afternoon set out his plans in parliament to drastically reduce the use of jury trials in England and Wales. With the backlog of cases due to be heard in courts already at 78,000, and heading for 100,000, the Justice Secretary believes that only radical solutions can tackle the ‘courts emergency’. He has announced that jury trials will be scrapped for crimes carrying a likely sentence of less than three years. However, the changes will not apply to more serious offences such as rape, murder and robbery. 

Lammy........

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