David Farrar: Jury trial consultation

The Ministry of Justice is consulting on two possible changes to jury trials, to reduce the huge delays in scheduling them as the number of trials has been increasing. It now takes an average 498 days from charging to trial conclusion.

At the moment you only have a right to a jury trial for offences that carry a maximum sentence of two years or more. This is most offences. They are consulting on whether they should move to three, five or seven years.

Kerre Woodham: Should juries be reserved for the big-ticket crimes?

There's an old saying that justice delayed is justice denied.

It's a legal maxim that means if legal redress to an injured party is available, but it's not forthcoming in a timely fashion, that's effectively the same as having no remedy at all. I don't think it's entirely true - a conviction and a prison term would bring some relief for victims of serious crime, but the stress of waiting years to see that justice delivered would be a heavy burden for the victim and their families.