Govt aiming to reduce number of jury trials to fix court delays

The Government wants to hear from the public on its proposals that would mean fewer jury trials occur in an attempt to fix delays in court . Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith released a discussion document on the Ministry of Justice website so people could give their views on the Government’s efforts to reduce the number of jury trials, which Goldsmith labels “one of the biggest drivers of delays in our courts”. The Government’s first proposal would increase the offence threshold at which a defendant was able to have a jury trial.

Currently, people could choose a jury trial if they were charged with an offence that had a maximum penalty of two years or more in prison. The discussion document requested feedback on whether that threshold should be extended to three years or more, five years or more, or seven years or more..