06-07-2025
High-profile sex criminals could be granted trial without jury
High-profile suspects in sex cases that have shocked the nation could get the right to seek a trial without a jury under plans to be considered by ministers.
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.
