Best of the Spectator Coffee House Shots: is the government right to restrict jury trials?
Mar 16, 2026
Danny Shaw, former adviser and Home Affairs commentator who backs pragmatic reforms to cut court backlogs. Karl Turner, Labour MP active in justice debates who fiercely defends jury rights. They debate the Courts Bill, whether judge-only trials speed up justice, parliamentary divisions and practical risks of curtailing juries. Tense agreement on the broken state of the system.
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Bill Packages Investment With Jury Reductions
- The Courts and Tribunals Bill combines investment with structural reforms to tackle a projected Crown Court backlog rising from ~80,000 to 130,000 then 200,000 by 2035.
- Key reforms are removing defendant venue choice for either-way cases, raising magistrates' sentencing to two years, and creating judge-only trials for sentences up to three years.
Right To Elect Seen As An Anachronism
- Danny frames removing the defendant's right to elect venue as principled and pragmatic: it's odd defendants can choose court while lacking other choices like police force.
- He argues jury trials should be reserved for most serious crimes and thresholds have changed before.
Parliamentary Opposition Is Growing Fast
- Karl Turner says many Labour MPs abstained at second reading and he expects opposition and amendments to grow in committee and Lords.
- He concedes parts of the bill are needed but insists curtailing jury trials is unnecessary and won't work.