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Reducing the availability of jury trial is neither principled nor pragmatic, the incoming chair of the bar argued last night. In her inaugural address, Kirsty Brimelow KC said her first priority was to lead the Bar Council’s opposition to planned Ministry of Justice reforms.

She said:

The constitutional principle is deep — with its importance being cemented in 1670 when Edward Bushel and his fellow jurors, a disinterested group of property owners, would rather have gone to prison than convict the Quakers Penn and Mead of causing tumultuous assembly by preaching in Gracechurch Street…

The pragmatic points are that the reduction of juries would have no impact on the existing backlog as it would take effect towards the end of this parliament. Impact even then is highly uncertain. Meanwhile energy and focus are drained from implementing the urgent reforms now that would decrease the backlog.

You can hear Brimelow outlining her priorities in the latest episode of A Lawyer Talks. As well as criminal justice reform, we discussed increasing the age of criminal responsibility; lawyers under attack; bullying and harassment at the bar; human rights; and violence against women and girls. I was particularly interested in Brimelow’s experience of witchcraft.

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