The Guardian view on restricting trial by jury: the ugly face of justice tailored to tight budgets | Editorial

Only a tiny minority of criminal cases in England and Wales are decided by a jury – as few as 1%, once guilty pleas and judge-directed acquittals are taken into account. There are democracies where jury trial is rarer still. That is relevant context for the recommendation, published on Wednesday in an independent review of the criminal courts, that more cases be heard by magistrates. There are also good reasons why the right to be judged by one’s peers is deemed a foundational principle of justice and an insurance against prejudice and capricious power. This, too, is relevant context.

Sir Brian Leveson, a former judge, recognises the sensitivity around any restriction on jury trial. But he weighs it against “the real risk of total system collapse in the near future”. He argues…