Lord Chief Justice proposes jury trial modifications

Proposals for different forms of jury trial to ease the backlog of cases after the COVID-19 shutdown have been put forward by the Lord Chief Justice for England & Wales, Lord Burnett.

Speaking to the BBC, Lord Burnett put forward measures similar to those now being considered by the Scottish Government following discussions with the legal profession and other interested parties.

He suggested reducing the number of jurors from 12 to seven, and holding trials in larger venues such as university lecture theatres.

Seven-strong juries have also been proposed for Scotland, with five votes needed for a guilty verdict, and trials being held in larger available courtrooms, though doubt has been cast on the practicality of using buildings not designed as courtrooms. The Scottish Government has still to announce its proposals for further legislation after its plan to hold solemn trials without juries was withdrawn following protests.

Lord Burnett warned that if social distancing lasted for months, it would be necessary to look at radical measures to enable jury trials to continue. He would support a move to reduce the number of jurors, as  was done during World War 2.

Even before the shutdown the Crown Court already faced a backlog of more than 37,000 cases due to Government cuts in the number of sitting days.

A working group chaired by Mr Justice Edis is meeting weekly to consider how and when jury trials might resume safely in England & Wales. Lord Burnett said that any resumption soon would require "very large courtrooms where it's possible to envisage participants maintaining social distancing".

He added: "It involves having another courtroom available via videolink in which the press and public can view what's going on. And it involves having a large room to which the jury can retire and maintain social distancing."

Many existing court buildings would be unsuitable and the use of other large venues was being considered.

Human rights group Justice believes safe social distancing is impossible and has been testing "virtual" mock jury trials for viability and safety. The consensus in Scotland appears to be that that might be a step too far, at least in the short term.