THE ABOLITION OF BRITAIN: Britain’s Plan to Abolish Most Jury Trials Should Make Us Grateful for the Constitution.
Some news from Britain, courtesy of the BBC:
Justice Secretary David Lammy is proposing to massively restrict the ancient right to a jury trial by only guaranteeing it for defendants facing rape, murder, manslaughter or other cases passing a public interest test.
An internal government briefing, produced by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) for all other Whitehall departments, confirms plans to create a new tier of jury-less courts in England and Wales.
The new courts would deal with most crimes currently considered by juries in Crown Court.
But the MoJ said no final decision had been taken by the government.
The plans, obtained by BBC News, show that Lammy, who is also deputy prime minister, wants to ask Parliament to end jury trials for defendants who would be jailed for up to five years.
This is an abomination. But it’s an abomination that, thanks to our remarkable Constitution, simply could not happen here in the United States. Our Sixth Amendment reads:
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results:
This will end very badly, but then so much of England appears to be ending very badly these days:
What is most frightening is that this effort to ban jury trial is aimed at the heart of the British middle class. It is set up precisely to impact the cases where one only faces months in jail. It will apply to “crimes” that are passed to control the population through…
— Don Kilmer (@donkilmer) November 25, 2025