Hannah Forsyth was called to the Bar in 2021 and became a tenant at Exchange Chambers in 2022. She now has a mixed criminal practice, prosecuting and defending in the Crown Court. In this blog, she explores how the government’s proposal to restrict the right to a jury trial would impact junior criminal barristers – and potentially drive those at the start of their career at the Bar away from criminal practice.
When considering the potential impact of the proposed reforms to jury trials, primacy should be given to those whose lives they will affect the most. The impact on those working in the legal profession day after day is of less moral significance, but it bears some practical consideration.
I am now 5 years’ Call and have undertaken a number of jury trials. Under the proposed scheme, many of those trials would have been before a judge alone, may have had a different outcome and would certainly have been conducted in a different matter. Under the proposed reforms, it is likely that many barristers would not conduct jury trials until later in their careers. It is difficult to estimate exactly how much later for any given advocate, but there would be a delayed progression.
The result of this would be a loss of experience in advocating before juries – and the likelihood that the first time in a barrister’s practice that he or she addressed a jury, it would be for an offence of some considerable significance to those involved. Jury trials – as with all adversarial trials – rely in no small part on the skill and commitment of the advocates in fighting their corner. The removal of jury trials at the junior end of the profession may have a significant impact on how that skill is developed.
There are other potential unknowns around the proposals at present. It is not known whether the change in the nature of the trial would cause a change in the fee structure paid to advocates. This is likely to disproportionately affect the junior Bar.
It is also not known what impact this would have on recruitment of barristers into criminal practice. Given the disparity in pay already in existence between crime and some areas of civil law, it is conceivable that further changes may reduce the attraction of a career at the criminal bar.
The presence and aptitude of criminal barristers has an impact on the criminal justice system – defendants and witnesses alike will still rely on properly trained, dedicated and skillful barristers to properly argue their case. The current government would do well to consider the impact of these reforms on those they will ask to navigate them in the future.
Find out more about the Bar Council's 'Justice needs juries' campaign