A PERSON'S historic right to have his or her case heard by a jury is under threat from government cost-cutting plans. This has serious implications for the criminal justice system.
Not only will it remove an important safeguard in the system, but it will undermine the liberty of the individual as well.
No one would seek to deny that magistrates make a vital contribution to our system of justice and no right-minded person wants to see the guilty go unpunished. However, the constitutional implications of further restricting the right to jury trial are profound and a right that goes back to Magna Carta should not be extinguished for short-term Treasury expediency.
If these proposals go ahead, it will mean that those accused of a criminal offence such as shoplifting will no longer have the choice of having their cases heard by a jury, but will be obliged to accept the summary jurisdiction of the magistrates court.
Many of your readers will have performed jury service, and will need no persuasion from me that the system is worth preserving. I urge them to write to their local Member of Parliament to make their voices heard on this important issue.
ROBERT HARGREAVES,
Bury and District Law Society.
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