The right of defendants to choose trial by jury for thousands of offences should be scrapped, Jack Straw, the former justice secretary, says.
Straw, one of Labour’s most senior politicians, says the right is a “ridiculous anomaly” which enabled defendants to “game” the system.
He argues that the current government should look at removing the right. “Rationally, there is no case whatsoever for giving the defendant a right to decide the forum for their [trial], to play the system.”
"I would certainly go down that route.” There would be a “terrible fuss” but then the waters would close over, he predicts.
Straw’s comments come as Shabana Mahmood, the current justice secretary, is under pressure to tackle record backlogs of cases awaiting trial.
She has appointed Sir Brian Leveson, a senior retired judge, to lead a “once in a generation’ review of the courts system in England and Wales to come up with proposals to cut delays.
One option likely to be considered is for a new ‘intermediary’ court of a judge and two magistrates to try cases meriting up to two years’ jail.
The most serious offences such as murder, sexual assaults including rape, assault causing grievous bodily harm and aggravated burglary would still go before a jury in the crown court.
Removing the right of defendants to choose their place of trial could be an alternative or additional measure.
Defendants often elect jury trial because they believe it gives them a better chance - either of acquittal or a lighter sentence, Straw says.
“I’m not sure you have [a better chance]. But what that is also saying is that the quality of justice in the magistrates’ courts is poor, which I don’t accept.”
At present the more minor offences are tried by magistrates and the most serious by a judge and jury in the crown court.
But thousands of middle-ranking offences including theft and assaults can be tried either by magistrates’ courts or by judge and jury in the crown court; and defendants can choose which forum they would prefer.
Straw himself mooted the idea of scrapping a defendants’ right to elect jury trial for the thousands of middle-ranking offences when Home Secretary under Blair.
The measure was strongly opposed during its passage in Parliament and had to be dropped.
Straw’s comments come in this week’s episode of the video podcast series “The Lord Chancellors: Where Politics Meets Justice,” launching tomorrow, Tuesday 14 January which can be viewed here.
In a wide-ranging interview with journalist Frances Gibb, he criticises former justice secretary Chris Grayling as being “completely unqualified” for the job, saying he “set about wantonly destroying the probation service by a botched privatisation”.
On Israel and Gaza, he says that there needs to be a deal in which Hamas agrees to stop fighting, releases those hostages still alive and the bodies of those killed or who have died in captivity; and then for a longer term plan to “allow the Palestinians to have their own independent state of Palestine, which is both for Gaza and most of the West Bank.”
Straw was Home Secretary under Blair from 1997 to 2001; Foreign Secretary from 2001 to 2006 and then Justice Secretary/Lord Chancellor from 2007 to 2010 under Gordon Brown.
The member of Parliament for Blackburn for 36 years until 2015, he was only one of three individuals to have served in Cabinet continuously during the Labour governments from 1979 to 2010.