High-profile sex criminals could be granted trial without jury
A review commissioned by Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, is expected this week to recommend defendants should get the right to ask for a judge-only trial as part of 'once-in-a-generation' reforms to tackle chronic court backlogs.
High Court judge Sir Brian Leveson, the review's author, has suggested that this could include suspects whose crimes have garnered so much 'public opprobrium' that they might feel the suspect would be unlikely to get an 'objective' trial by jury.
In a previous review, he indicated this reform could include defendants charged with sexual or sadistically violent offences or suspects from minorities or sects who might consider a judge to be more objective than a jury.
The move to give a right to opt for a judge-only trial would replicate similar systems in the US and Canada, where defendants in all Crown Court trials have the right to refuse a jury. An alternative model in New Zealand limits the option to less serious offences carrying maximum sentences below 14 years in jail.
Sir Brian signalled the approach last month in a speech to legal experts, although he stressed a judge would require the discretion to reject any request.
'I'm also going to talk about the extent to which a defendant should be allowed to elect to be tried by a judge alone, as happens in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand,' he said.
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The Independent
38 minutes ago
- The Independent
Putin may be mocking Trump over Ukraine – but the US president won't do anything about it
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Pentagon officials suggested the suspension was a 'pause' in delivery of Patriots, precision artillery and Hellfire missiles mounted on Ukrainian F-16 aircraft as part of a review of US supplies worldwide. But the US has not declared a pause in supply to any other nation. Israel is the largest recipient of US military aid by far and has recently enjoyed an uptick in supplies of bombs and missiles even as it stands accused by the United Nations of 'ethnic cleansing' and its prime minister has been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court. Trump has been trying to secure a ceasefire in the Ukraine war for months. Despite Kyiv offering a 30-day pause in fighting, Putin has repeatedly made it clear that Russia is not interested while it pursues a summer offensive to carve out the east of Ukraine. Trump has suggested he is frustrated by Putin but has threatened the Russian president with no definitive sanctions. 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For the last year or so Russian drone pilots have been using civilians in Kherson as target practice on training operations, with FPV drones killing several people most weeks. 'It won't be long before we see people being hunted through the streets of Kyiv by AI drones in swarms. We need to defeat Russia before that happens,' said a senior officer in Ukraine's drone warfare operations.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Ministers urged to keep care plans for children with special needs
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Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Wimbledon expansion plan goes into legal tie-break
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