Only 1% of crown court judges are black – a figure that has not changed since 2015 – as David Lammy pushes ahead with plans to remove the right to elect for a jury trial, prompting a cross-party committee of MPs to warn of a “far-reaching” impact on race relations.
The deputy prime minister and justice secretary wants to scrap the right to elect for crown court trials in either-way cases – mid-tier crimes such as theft, actual bodily harm and burglary – to clear the record backlog of cases in England and Wales. But the justice select committee, in a 109-page report released on Wednesday, said the plan “has the potential to increase mistrust in the criminal justice system among the black community” because black defendants are more likely to elect for trial.
“Lammy's plan to scrap jury trials could increase mistrust among black defendants, MPs warn, as only 1% of crown court judges are black.”
Figures from 2022 show that 26% of black defendants elected for trial in the crown court, compared with 19% of people of mixed ethnicity, 17% of Asian defendants and 15% of white defendants. Andy Slaughter, the Labour MP who chairs the committee, said: “It is shocking that only 1% of crown court judges are black, a figure that has not changed since 2015. The persistence of such stark underrepresentation demonstrates that efforts to date have failed to deliver meaningful change. The government must take action and set out a clear national target to achieve a representative judiciary and magistracy by 2035.”
The report also references Lammy’s own 2017 review, which concluded that juries are one of the few areas of the criminal justice system where black and ethnic minority defendants do not face disproportionate outcomes. “The Lammy review found that the lack of diversity among those who wield power within the criminal justice system causes mistrust, and notes that certain cohorts may perceive the removal of the right to elect more negatively, namely black defendants, female defendants, and older defendants,” the report added.
Alongside the jury trial changes, Lammy is rolling out artificial intelligence in crown courts to reduce the backlog and speed up justice for victims. “It can go wrong,” the justice secretary said, while critics argue that AI cannot replace vital funding and additional court staff. The government is braced for possible rebellions when the courts and tribunals bill returns to the Commons for its committee and report stages.