Story perspectives

Lawmaker Proposes Jury Trial Cuts Amid Domestic Violence Concerns

3/29/2026

Summary

Story summary

David Lammy, a lawmaker, proposes reducing jury trials, while Richard Atkinson, president of The Law Society, warns this could raise domestic-violence risk.
Under the reforms, defendants facing sentences under three years would be tried by magistrates or judges, not juries.
The shift could extend delays in magistrates' courts, which have a backlog of 380,000 cases in England and Wales.
Victims withdraw from prosecution in assault and domestic-violence cases due to court anxiety.

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Story summary

David Lammy, a lawmaker, proposes reducing jury trials, while Richard Atkinson, president of The Law Society, warns this could raise domestic-violence risk.
Under the reforms, defendants facing sentences under three years would be tried by magistrates or judges, not juries.
The shift could extend delays in magistrates' courts, which have a backlog of 380,000 cases in England and Wales.
Victims withdraw from prosecution in assault and domestic-violence cases due to court anxiety.