Write to your MP: the right to trial by jury
Last week we asked you to write to your MP’s. If you have not already done so, here is all the information you need:
- The Template letter which you can adapt to suit your personal circumstances and experiences can be found here.
- You can find out who your MP is, and how to contact them by email via Find your MP – MPs and Lords – UK Parliament
- PLEASE do CC in both [email protected], and [email protected] so that we can collectively monitor numbers of letters written.
- Please adapt the letter as you see fit. There is a section in the letter which gives you the option of adding your own views, or experiences. To assist you, here are two examples from what others have written:
- “I urge you to consider what has been said to date, and not simply accept what David Lammy MP has asserted as correct – there are many factual inaccuracies in what he has put before Parliament. The very foundation of the proposals, that they will reduce the backlog and give swift justice for victims currently waiting for their trials is false. There is no evidence that it is trial by jury that has caused the delays in criminal proceedings. Rather, the cause has been government’s systematic and continued neglect of the criminal justice system across many years. There are no proposals that we have seen to make this derogation of the right to trial by jury retrospective so as to apply to cases in the backlog, and the changes will take a significant amount of time to put in place. The language used in the announcements has been concerning, as it assumes that all those who are accused of a crime are guilty – something which cuts across the very foundation of our system – the presumption of innocence.“
- “In particular, the proposed restriction of jury trial raises acute fairness concerns in practice. It risks disproportionately affecting defendants of limited means and those with vulnerabilities who are least able to navigate a more streamlined process or to withstand the pressures that commonly arise where jury trial is removed. It also engages fundamental fair trial principles reflected in Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, including equality of arms and the requirement of a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal. If the rationale for reform is said to be efficiency or capacity, the evidential basis should be made clear: reforms of this constitutional significance should be supported by transparent data demonstrating necessity, proportionality, and the absence of less intrusive alternatives.”
Our thanks go to all who have been involved in drafting the briefing note, and especially James Gray, CBA Officer at 25 Bedford Row, Chloe Ashley, CBA Officer at NO5 Chambers and Christopher Moran, CBA Executive Committee, New Park Square Barristers.
- The CBA continue to work with the Bar Council to marshal our opposition to the Lammy proposals. We are currently organizing a series of events with MP’s in January and February. Further details will be available shortly.
- HH Geoffrey Rivlin’s keynote speech at the CBA Winter conference made history as the first to receive a standing ovation. He has now converted that speech into an article, published by Red Lion Chambers on Substack. If you missed it, we recommend that you read it. It can be found Juries and Judges – The Right to Choose & Current Proposals.
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