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Plans to reduce jury trials risk missing the real problem in the criminal justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, David Wolchover of Ridgeway Chambers argues the crown court backlog is fuelled not by juries but weak cases slipping through a flawed ‘50%’ prosecution test
He says predicting conviction is ‘hit-and-miss and utterly futile’, forcing prosecutors to guess in ‘medium-strength’ cases. The result: too many trials that should never start.
Rather than curbing jury trial, Wolchover urges a stricter threshold—only cases where conviction is clearly more likely should proceed. Tightening screening, not diluting rights, could stem the ‘incalculably large’ flow overwhelming the system.
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