How do juries work and why might they be replaced in the UK?

Justice secretary David Lammy has said there is “no right” to jury trials in the UK and that juries might not be used, but for serious crimes such as rape, murder and manslaughter.

While such a move would get the court system, which has a massive backlog, sped up, it would be controversial among those who feel such a move would be an “assault on justice”.

Here is what it means.

What is a jury?

Jury service usually lasts up to 10 working days and sees a group of 12 people, unrelated to a crime, try to reach a verdict to decide a trial.

Members are not paid but the state can reimburse lost earnings and pay expenses.

Juries currently decide cases in crown courts that have gone to trial, although proposals might see their presence limited to only judge certain types of serious crimes.

A judge will ideally want a jury to be unanimous in their verdict but can sometimes accept a clear majority (ie. 10 versus two).

While the case is active, jury members are forbidden from talking about the case outside the courtroom, from reading about the case in the news, or completing their own investigation.

Who does jury duty in the UK?

Names of jury members are chosen randomly from the electoral register and those required to serve will receive a letter in the post which must be responded to.

Usually, a pool of 15 to 20 people are summoned for a case and a jury is chosen from these people, with those not serving sent home.

If you cannot do jury service on the dates in your summons letter, you can ask to change the date or be excused. You can only ask for the date to be changed once, and your reason for the absence must be because of a date conflict; such as an operation, exam, or holiday.

You can be excused from jury duty if you have done it in the past two years, if you have an illness, or are a new parent.

Could jury duty be replaced?

There are no plans to completely scrap juries in the UK, but the Times has reported that Mr Lammy had sent a memo floating the idea.

The justice secretary said to other ministers and senior civil servants this month that rape, murder, manslaughter and “public interest” cases would be heard by juries, while other lower offences would be heard by a judge.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Jury trials will remain a cornerstone of our justice system for the most serious cases.

“No final decisions have been taken, but it is right that we ask whether there are cases that need not be heard by a jury.”

Asked if the Prime Minister would be comfortable with a situation where the only cases that went before a jury were homicides and rapes, the spokesman added: “I think we’re slightly getting ahead of things.“We are looking at the review, no decisions have been taken, and we will respond accordingly.”

Why might juries be scrapped?

The move might speed up court proceedings with the Ministry of Justice reporting a backlog of 78,000 cases.

Mr Lammy previously said: “Statistics show the crown court backlog has hit a new record high and it lays bare the unacceptable wait victims face.”

The news comes as the Government is yet to respond to recommendations made by Sir Brian Leveson in a review of how to reform the courts system and cut the record-high crown court backlog.

Another of Lord Justice Leveson’s proposals would be for defendants to receive a 40% discount on their sentence if they plead guilty at the earliest opportunity.

Commenting on the reports, Law Society of England and Wales president Mark Evans said the “extreme measure” on jury trials “goes far beyond” recommendations made by Sir Brian.

“This is a fundamental change to how our criminal justice system operates and it goes too far,” he said.

“We have not seen any real evidence that expanding the types of cases heard by a single judge will work to reduce the backlogs.

"With a sensible combination of funding and structural change, the Government can solve the criminal courts backlog without resorting to extremes.”