A large group made up of lawyers, top barristers and retired judges have called on the government to rethink plans to abolish some jury trials. A proposal, known as the Courts and Tribunals Bill, has passed the Commons as MPs have backed it at second reading by 304 to 203, so it will now have amendments considered. It would replace juries in England and Wales with a single judge in cases where the maximum sentence would be up to three years. The aim is to help ease Crown Court backlog which has reached record levels with 80,000 cases, meaning some defendants charged today may not face a trial until 2030.

Can the justice system work effectively without juries? Petrie gets the professional opinion from Criminal Defence Barrister, Andrew Taylor, before hearing your opinions as you get the chance to talk back.

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