Serious consideration should be given to restructuring the courts to tackle the backlog of outstanding cases - leaving the Crown court to deal with only the most serious cases, the most recent Conservative lord chancellor has suggested.
Alex Chalk told a fringe event at the party conference on access to justice yesterday that it was 'time to look again at the Auld review'.
Lord Justice Auld's 2001 blueprint for criminal law proposed unifying the magistrates and Crown courts into a single structure consisting of three divisions: the Crown division; the magistrates' division; and a new intermediate district division constituted by a professional judge and two lay magistrates.
Chalk said: 'Is it right that someone accused of possession of Class C drugs has an automatic right to elect a Crown court trial? I think it's time to look at the Auld review.'
Chalk said cases with a maximum sentence of two years 'could conceivably be dealt with by a judge and two wingers, so reserve the Crown court for the most serious cases'.
The government is reportedly considering greater sentencing powers for magistrates to drive down the remand prison population.
Asked about this, Chalk said: 'Labour are making some mistakes but that is not one of them. It will not be enough to get through the backlog. We had Nightingale courts, no cap on sitting days, but we're going to need to go further.'
The ability for Crown courts such as Isleworth and Snaresbrook to get through more serious cases is 'undermined' by the fact they are dealing with cases 'that might conceivably be dealt with elsewhere', Chalk said.
'It is helpful to look at which cases should be triable either way and which should be summary only.'
Yesterday's fringe event was organised by the Society of Conservative Lawyers, Law Society, Bar Council and all-party parliamentary group on access to justice.
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