Category Archives: Jury Trial

Labour MP Attacks Plan To Scrap Most Jury Trials After Revealing She Was Raped

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A Labour MP has condemned David Lammy’s plan to scrap most jury trials after revealing for the first time that she had been raped.

Charlotte Nichols accused the justice secretary of using victims as a “cudgel” to force the controversial reforms through.

The government wants to get rid of juries in cases where the sentence is expected to be less than three years.

Ministers say the move is necessary to clear the huge backlog of court cases in England and Wales.

But critics say the planned reforms, contained in the Court and Tribunals Bill, will remove a fundamental right while not actually solving the problem.

During a Commons debate on the bill, Nichols said she had waited 1,088 days for her case to get to court.

The MP for Warrington North said: “Every single one of those days was agony, made worse by having a role in public life that meant that the mental health consequences of my trauma were played out in public, with the event that led to my eventual sectioning for my own safety still being something that I receive regular social media abuse from strangers about to this day.

“But here’s the kicker, in this debate, experiences like mine feel like they’ve been weaponised and are being used for rhetorical misdirection, for what this bill actually is.

“The violence against women and girls sector haven’t had the opportunity to come together to discuss it, and the government’s framing and narrative has been to pit survivors and defendants against each other in a way I think is deeply damaging.

“We have been told that if we have concerns about this bill, it is because we have not been raped or because we don’t care enough for rape victims.

“The opposite is true in my case, it is because I have been raped that I am as passionate as I am about what it means for a justice system to be truly victim focused.

“It is because I have endured every indignity that our broken criminal justice system could mete out that I care what kind of reform will actually deliver justice for survivors and victims of crime more widely.”

She added: “There is so much that we can be doing for rape victims that isn’t [David Lammy] using them as a cudgel to drive through reforms that aren’t directly relevant to them.”

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Labour MP Tells Starmer To Scrap Jury Reforms Or Face A By-Election

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A Labour MP has told Keir Starmer to scrap his planned jury reforms – or he will trigger a by-election.

The government intends to limit jury trials in England and Wales, abolishing them altogether for non-serious offences – those with a likely prison sentences of three years of less – in a bid to clear the court backlog.

But Karl Turner, the former shadow solicitor general, has told The Sunday Times he is “ashamed” of the prime minister and justice secretary David Lammy for going ahead with the plans.

The MP for Kingston upon Hull East urged the government to “stop these ludicrous proposals and get on with the hard job of sorting out the criminal justice system”.

He voted for a Tory motion to force a vote among MPs on the government’s justice reforms this week, breaking the party whip as he did so.

That marked the first time Turner had voted against his own party since securing a seat in 2010.

While around 40 Labour MPs previously warned the prime minister they are not prepared to support the plans, Turner was the only one to oppose the government and back a Tory motion.

But he told The Sunday Times he is “not fearful of having the whip removed” as a result, and would even consider standing down as an MP.

He currently holds his seat with a majority of 3,920 – Reform came in second place.

Despite the threat, Turner said he does not believe he will end up triggering a by-election, noting Labour MPs are “seething” over the reforms.

He suggested the backbenchers will be able to defeat the government’s motion if it “daft enough” to bring it forward.

Turner also revealed that the justice reforms “really matter” to him because he was wrongly accused of a crime “many years ago” – leading him to pursue his own career in law before becoming an MP.

The Ministry of Justice told the newspaper: “Victims are facing an unacceptably long wait for justice after years of delays in our courts. This government is determined to change that.

“That is why we are combining bold reforms, record levels of investment and action to tackle inefficiencies across the system — so victims and survivors see their cases heard sooner and get the justice they deserve.

“Taken together, these measures will ensure the most serious cases are prioritised and continue to be heard by a jury, while reducing unnecessary delays that leave victims waiting for far too long.”

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