Trial by Jury: the lamp must keep burning

Lord Devlin wrote: “Trial by jury is more than an instrument of justice and more than one wheel of the constitution: it is the lamp that shows that freedom lives”. The flame of that lamp is at risk.

The current backlog which affects victims, witnesses and defendants was not unforeseen. It is widely reported as being the direct result of a lack of funding in the Criminal Justice System by government and sustained neglect by them.

The backlog which has been caused through no fault of the public, should not be met with an unprecedented assault on the right of the public to be judged by their peers. The jury trial is, as noted by Lord Hope in R v Connor and Mirza [2004] UKHL 2, rightly regarded as a bastion of the criminal justice system against domination of the state and a safeguard of the liberty of its citizen.

This is not a time for silence, rhetoric, or point scoring. The time is for collaboration, meaningful debate and for those that govern to listen to the experts and engage. The backlog must be tackled. But the answer as to how must be evidence led.

Chambers will fully support the CBA, our Circuit Leaders and the Bar Council in all endeavours to defend and preserve the jury system.

The next few months will become a pivotal moment in history for our country and for democracy.

 

Maria Karaiskos KC, Head of Chambers

Colin Witcher, Deputy Head

Claire Anderson, CEO