APPEAL’s Statement on Jury-Trial Reforms

The charity APPEAL renews its strong opposition to government announcement that drastically reduces the role of juries in criminal trials across England and Wales. These reforms, triggered in part by the recently published review by Sir Brian Leveson and revived in the light of a severe crown-court backlog, represent an unprecedented threat to the centuries-old right to trial by one’s peers.

Juries: A bulwark against wrongful conviction and systemic bias
APPEAL’s submission to the Leveson review highlighted how reducing the right to a jury trial would likely lead to a rise in miscarriages of justice, especially among marginalised groups. Juries bring together a cross-section of the community; their verdicts reflect diverse lived experiences, diluting individual prejudices or institutional bias that might otherwise influence decisions made by a single judge.

Backlog ≠ Justification for dismantling justice
While there is no denying that the crown courts face serious pressures, including a backlog of nearly 80,000 cases, APPEAL firmly believes that systemic underfunding, staff shortages, legal aid cuts, and austerity have caused this crisis, not the principle of jury trials itself.

Transforming our justice system under the guise of efficiency, without addressing the root causes, risks “fixing” a backlog at the expense of fairness and liberty. As articulated by major legal professional bodies, reforming court infrastructure and increasing resources would be a principled response, not stripping away a foundational democratic safeguard.

Defending the “palladium of liberty”
APPEAL echoes the warning of philosopher A.C. Grayling, who described the jury as the “palladium of liberty against arbitrary authority.” By entrusting decisions of guilt or innocence to ordinary citizens from all walks of life, the jury system ensures that justice remains grounded in community values, not concentrated in the hands of the state.

The right to a jury trial is not a dispensable relic of history, but a living safeguard of fairness, equality, and public trust. Reducing that right should never be considered a legitimate shortcut to administrative convenience.

What needs to happen instead

• Invest substantially to expand court capacity, ensure enough judges and lawyers, and reduce delays.
• Prioritise resources for evidence-led decision making and early screening of weak cases to reduce unnecessary prosecutions.
• Preserve the automatic right to jury trial for all cases currently eligible — especially “either-way” offences — and resist proposals to marginalise lay participation in favour of judge-only courts.

Conclusion
The justice system’s legitimacy depends on fairness, transparency and community participation. Weakening or removing the role of juries for thousands of criminal cases represents a dangerous and unnecessary erosion of those principles. APPEAL stands ready to work with legislators, civil-society organisations, and communities to protect the right to trial by jury.

For further information, interviews or a copy of APPEAL’s full submission to the Leveson Review, please contact: mail@appeal.org.uk

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