Newscast The Jury’s (Kind Of) Out
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Dec 2, 2025 
Dominic Casciani, a BBC Home and Legal Affairs correspondent, discusses proposed reforms to jury trials, highlighting the shift of minor cases to magistrates and the implications for court backlogs. He emphasizes the potential efficiency of judge-only trials for fraud and complex cases while preserving jury trials for serious crimes. Meanwhile, John Fingleton, an independent regulator and author, critiques the UK's nuclear sector, revealing how regulatory complexity hinders infrastructure projects and advocating for broader reform in risk management and regulatory practices.
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Many Jury Trials Will Be Replaced
- Removing juries from many 'either way' cases will shift thousands of trials from juries to judges.
- Dominic Casciani says roughly half of current jury trials (about 7,500 cases) could be eliminated under the reforms.
Magistrates To Take More Cases
- Magistrates' sentencing powers will rise from 12 to 18 months, with a reserved power to 24 months.
- Dominic Casciani notes this reduces Crown Court workload by keeping many cases at magistrates' courts.
Pair Reforms With More Judges And Funding
- Speed gains depend on adding judges and funding criminal defence to attract barristers back into crime work.
- Dominic Casciani emphasises government must combine reforms with resourcing to reduce backlog.