By Gabriel Princewill-
The Ministry Of Justice must stop its arrogance, and listen to the frustrating cries of the legal profession, who are ethically fighting to preserve the rights of the citizen to jury trials, according to a leading criminal barrister in the UK.
Joseph Kotrie- Monson, an experienced barrister from Mary Monson Solicitor firm, and member of The Eye Of Media.Com’s thinktank, has again implored the British government to carefully consider the protests of legal practitioners, who this week held a protest at Westminster .
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The vocal and veteran barrister only last week lamented the indiscretion of deputy prime minister and minister of Justice, David Lammy, for pushing plans to abolish the right to a jury trial for defendants accused of serious crimes carrying up to three years imprisonment.
Today, he told this publication: ‘When lawyers have zero financial interest in protesting, but are doing because they feel professionally and ethically obliged to, government should listen. The partial abolition of Jury trials is a sinister bell that will not be easily unrung.
‘The arrogance that government is displaying in attacking the citizen’s right to a trial by other citizens, which was hard earned a thousand years ago, betrays either shortsighted and epic stupidity, or something much more controlling and malicious. Either way, it would be devastating for a once great British justice system if these simplistic, retrograde and dangerous changes actually came to fruition”.
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In Westminster this week, the air outside Parliament has carried an unusual mixture of indignation, anxiety and disbelief. Hundreds of criminal lawyers gathered within sight of the Palace of Westminster, marching in protest and urging the government to think again about what many regard as the most consequential change to the English criminal justice system in generations.
Their message was blunt:, that Justice Secretary David Lammy must “smell the coffee” and confront the depth of opposition to his plans to curtail jury trials before Parliament is asked to entrench them into law.
The confrontation has emerged from the government’s controversial effort to tackle a chronic crisis in the courts. England and Wales face a Crown Court backlog approaching 80,000 cases, a figure that has grown steadily since the pandemic and remains politically embarrassing for a government elected on promises of competence and reform.
Keir Starmer’s administration insists that bold structural change is needed if victims are to receive justice within a reasonable timeframe. Lammy has responded with the centrepiece of his legislative agenda- the Courts and Tribunals Bill- which proposes to restrict jury trials to the most serious offences and move thousands of cases into judge-only hearings.
Yet, for many barristers, solicitors and legal academics, the proposals represent a fundamental constitutional mistake. They argue that the government is responding to longstanding administrative failures; years of underinvestment in courts, judges and legal aid, by dismantling one of the most enduring safeguards in the common law tradition- the right to be tried by a jury of one’s peers.
The scale of the backlash is striking. More than 3,200 lawyers have signed letters urging the government to abandon the reforms, whilst the protests staged by seasoned lawyers in Westminster and across the legal profession against the lampooned reforms speaks volumes. Organisers say the unpopular reforms would strip defendants of a “fundamental” protection that has defined British justice for centuries.
Inside Parliament itself, the opposition is not confined to the usual partisan lines. Around 65 Labour MPs are reportedly uneasy about the proposals, raising the prospect of a backbench rebellion that could embarrass the government even if the legislation ultimately passes.
The core of Lammy’s argument appears to have a pragmatic element; that the criminal justice system is, by most accounts, struggling under the weight of its own delays. Jury trials are resource-intensive: they require juror selection, lengthy summing-up, and courtrooms capable of accommodating panels of citizens.
Transferring less serious cases to judge-only trials, ministers argue, would enable the courts to process thousands of cases quicker, freeing up Crown Court capacity for the most serious crimes.
In announcing the reforms, the Ministry of Justice described them as part of a broader programme to deliver “swift and fair justice for victims,” combining investment with structural change. The government insists jury trials would remain for the gravest offences—murder, rape and other indictable-only crimes—while less serious cases would be heard by a judge sitting alone.
But critics say the justification is thin, the modelling opaque, and the constitutional cost, enormous. They actively lament the underpinning rationale behind the substance of the proposals .
”judges cannot accurately and fairly represent all sections of society, because of their elitist background and disconnection from people from some walks of life, Monson said. Their job is to explain the law, and adjudicate the case fairly. Not make rulings on matters reserved for the defendants peers in the form of the jury. The gravest offences need to be conducted before a jury comprising the peers of the regular defendant.
At the centre of the controversy lies the influence of a major policy review conducted by senior judge Brian Leveson. His independent review of the criminal courts, commissioned by the Ministry of Justice, examined ways to tackle the mounting case backlog. The general objective of reducing the court backlog, and speeding up justice for victims is unarguably compelling. But, where the framework is inherently flawed and counter productive
Among its recommendations was the creation of new procedural options, including the possibility of judge-only trials in some circumstances, particularly where defendants consented or cases were exceptionally complex.
However, many legal observers argue that Lammy’s proposals stretch well beyond what Leveson originally envisaged. Academic commentary and legal analysis have noted that the government appears to have expanded the scope of judge-only trials to cover a far wider category of offences, particularly those likely to carry sentences of three years or less. That difference matters.
The proposals have been described as an outlier by such observers, whowho say his widely mocked proposals will put him at odds with most democracies in the world. While Leveson’s review examined procedural flexibility, the government’s bill could shift thousands of cases away from juries altogether. Some estimates suggest the number of jury trials could be nearly halved if the reforms take full effect. This is where the legal profession’s frustration has boiled over.
Barristers like Monson argue that the government is misdiagnosing the problem. The backlog, they say, is not caused by juries but by systemic underfunding: a shortage of judges, insufficient sitting days, and crumbling court infrastructure. Monson continued: ”the reforms are “suicidal” for public confidence in the justice system, and dismantling jury trials would remove an essential democratic check on state power. The government is responsible for decades of underfunding, making it immoral for it to deprive the public of its democratic right.
In parliamentary debates and professional statements, lawyers have repeatedly warned that trial by jury is not merely a procedural detail but a constitutional principle. Around 90% of criminal barristers oppose the reforms”
The argument is not purely nostalgic. Juries, critics say, serve a vital function in legitimising criminal verdicts. They represent the direct participation of ordinary citizens in the administration of justice. In a diverse society, proponents argue, a jury’s collective judgment is less likely to reflect unconscious bias than the view of a single judge.
Monson went further, warning that ”removing juries ‘could increase the risk of miscarriages of justice and undermine public trust in verdicts”. The Institute for Government has suggested that the efficiency gains from judge-only trials might be marginal, perhaps saving less than two percent of court time, thereby casting doubt on whether the reform would meaningfully reduce the backlog.”
Joseph Kotrie-Monson of Mary Monson Solicitors says Government proposals to remove juries is shortsigted
Image: Mary Monson Solicitors
The debate has been intensified by high-profile resignations and public interventions. One prominent barrister associated with the Post Office scandal cases stepped down from a regulatory role in protest, describing the reforms as an attack on the rule of law and accusing ministers of exploiting victims’ suffering to justify structural change.
Lammy’s supporters understandably insist that the outcry risks ignoring a stark reality that the current system is failing victims and defendants alike. Indeed cases routinely take years to reach trial, and crucial witnesses could arguably forget details. Victims lose faith. Defendants remain in limbo. The government argues that preserving the system unchanged is simply not an option.
Lammy himself has framed the issue as a choice between reform and collapse. Without changes to court structures and procedures, ministers say, the backlog could continue to grow for years, undermining public confidence in the justice system far more profoundly than procedural reform would.
Symbolic Importance Of Jury By Trial
Many sympathetic observers believe the government has underestimated the symbolic importance of jury trials. Trial by jury is woven deeply into the constitutional identity of England and Wales, dating back centuries and widely regarded as a bulwark against arbitrary state power.
Legal historians often point to jury trials as a defining feature of the common law tradition. From the acquittal of dissidents in the seventeenth century to modern-day criminal trials, juries have served as a democratic counterweight to authority. Removing them from large swathes of the criminal process inevitably raises questions about how far the state should go in pursuit of efficiency.
The political dimension of the debate is equally significant because Lammy, who is a former barrister and long-time advocate for criminal justice reform, has built his reputation on defending fairness and equality before the law. His background makes the current proposals all the more perplexing; but it also potentially exposes a lack of adequate insight about how the justice system should really work, when all factors are taking into account.
Or the position of the minister of Justice-(also the deputy prime minister) may simply fuel sceptical views that politicians are simply deceptive and inconsistent about the values they hold when push really comes to shove. Along this line is whether Lammy views are a reflection of a wider collective political stance on the matter within particular circles in his party, and whether that stance really stands up to logical and legal scrutiny.
Under fire: David Lammy’s judgement on jury trials under severe attack by multiple eminent barristers
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How coherent are Lammy’s proposals in light of the overarching issues at hand, and how efficiently is he playing his role as minister of justice? This is an objective question, determined by competent evaluation and analysis.
Lawyers like Joseph Kottrie- Monson actively describes the decision to pursue Leveson-inspired reforms so aggressively, as ”politically risky and ridiculously inept”. ”If the reforms fail to reduce delays, or worse, lead to controversial verdicts in judge-only trials, the government could face a backlash far beyond the legal profession”, he says, animated as he decries the government’s of the government’s alleged imprudent reasoning.
Others suspect that the reforms are being driven as much by fiscal constraints as by policy logic. Expanding jury trials requires more judges, more courtrooms and more resources. Restricting them may simply be the cheaper option- a position Monson says characterises the shortcoming and ineptitude of the government’s reasoning.
Whatever the underlying motivations, the path to implementation is clear, and the reforms must pass through Parliament.
The Courts and Tribunals Bill has already begun its legislative journey, receiving a second reading in the House of Commons in March 2026. That stage of scrutiny is expected to lead to the first major parliamentary debate on the principle of the legislation. If the bill survives the vote—as expected—it will proceed to the committee stage, where MPs scrutinise the text line by line and propose amendments.
The legislation must then pass through further Commons stages, then move to the House of Lords, where peers often subject justice reforms to particularly intense scrutiny. Given the constitutional significance of jury trials, many observers expect the Lords to demand revisions or safeguards.
Implementation
Even if Parliament ultimately approves the reforms, implementation will not be immediate. Legal analysts have suggested that translating the proposals into operational reality could take years, requiring new court structures, additional judges and procedural rules before the changes fully take effect.
That long timeline has prompted critics to ask an uncomfortable question. If the reforms will not meaningfully reduce the backlog in the short term, why risk dismantling such a central feature of the justice system now? Barristers protesting outside Parliament insist the government is moving too fast, with too little evidence, and with insufficient respect for the constitutional traditions that underpin the rule of law.
Their message to Lammy is as political as it is legal. Smell the coffee, they say. Recognise that this is not merely another policy dispute but a debate about the democratic character of the justice system itself.
In the coming weeks, that debate is expected to move from the streets outside Parliament to the green benches inside it. Amendments will be tabled, alliances will shift, and the government will attempt to persuade sceptical MPs that its reforms are both necessary and safe.
But whatever the final outcome, the controversy has already revealed something important. This is that in Britain, the institution of the jury still commands a loyalty that transcends party lines and professional interests. To tamper with it is to touch one of the deepest nerves in the country’s constitutional life. And if the protests of the criminal bar are any indication, this is a battle that is only just beginning.
The Ministry Of Justice was contacted for comment on Monson’s criticism and the mass protests by criminal barristers this week. They declined to comment.
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