Don’t Cut Jury Trials

The referral by the Attorney General to an Upper House Committee to examine whether to give judges the power to decide which cases should be “judge only”, and remove the exclusive powers of the DPP to perform this function, shows the Keneally Labor Government wants to scrap jury trials.

 “Anyone who has practiced in the criminal law system would know the value of a jury in determining the guilt or innocence of an accused person,” said Mr Smith.

“It is most unusual for the DPP to withhold consent to a trial without a jury and comparatively few accused seek such a trial,” he said.

“Despite occasional mis-trials, juries play an extremely important role in the criminal justice system.

“The combined wisdom of 12 representatives of the community is an invaluable asset in maintaining confidence in the criminal justice system.

“Recent changes to the fraud laws recognise that juries are uniquely suited to decide questions of dishonesty in deciding whether community standards have been breached.

“Strangely this is an aspect not mentioned in the Attorney General’s explanation of why he was making a reference to the Legislative Council Committee.

“This is just another misguided attempt by the incompetent Keneally Labor Government to cut resources from the criminal justice system.

“While the money saved by prosecuting fewer jury trials may fund some fleeting election promises, it would greatly damage community confidence in the system.