The human rights group Liberty is urging MPs to vote against a second reading of the Fraud (Trials without a Jury) Bill, warning that the dangerous precedent of removing the right to jury trials could fatally undermine the criminal justice system.
Gareth Crossman, Liberty’s Policy Director said:
“The government’s determination to limit jury trials will dangerously undermine public confidence in our criminal justice system.
Fraud cases are not unique in being lengthy and complex – justifications to remove juries from other types of cases are sure to follow.”
Liberty also expressed concern that removing white collar crime from normal criminal procedure will create a two-tier system of justice. Further, using a single judge in fraud cases could potentially undermine the judge’s credibility if an appeal finds that original testimony or evidence supported by the judge was false.
Contact: Jen Corlew on 0207 378 3656 or 0797 3 831 128
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. Liberty’s Parliamentary Briefing on the Fraud (Trials without a Jury) Bill for 2nd reading in the House of Commons is available at
www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk 2. The Fraud (Trials without a Jury) Bill will receive its second reading in the Commons on 29 November 2006. The Bill seeks to implement a piece of legislation which is already on the statute book as part of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.
3. Liberty recommends better trial management to alleviate the expense and length of complex fraud trials. Liberty also notes that the Fraud Act 2006 may soon have a positive affect on fraud cases by replacing the range of previous fraud offences with a single general offence.
4. The Government rationale to limit jury trials in complex fraud cases includes the argument that juries cannot comprehend cases involving detailed expert evidence, multiple defendants, crimes with trans-national elements and other factors. Liberty is concerned that this rationale might be used to justify the removal of a jury in other types of cases, such as terrorism or corporate manslaughter prosecutions.
5. Liberty believes that the insurmountable damage this law may bring to the criminal justice system is unwarranted in light of the small number of cases it will affect. In an exchange with journalist Henry Porter on 23 April 2006, the Prime Minister said the “estimated number of cases per year is around 20, out of 40,000 jury trials.”
6. The Government has attributed the collapse of the Jubilee Line fraud trial in March 2005 to problems with the jury, however, the Wooler Report into the trial specifically ruled out that the complexity of the case was too much for the jury, citing instead the lack of a clear strategy by the CPS as a principal cause of failure.
