Labour calls for smaller ‘wartime juries’ to help clear court case backlog

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

direct to your inboxThe size of juries should be cut to seven people from 12 to help clear the backlog of criminal cases waiting to come to court, Labour has said.The party called on the Government to resort to “wartime juries”, as were used during the Second World War when numbers were cut - except for murder and treason trials - to reduce the space needed to hold socially-distanced cases, PA reports.This could also help reduce the likelihood of jurors becoming infected with coronavirus while attending court, according to Labour, which claimed victims of rape, murder, domestic abuse, robbery and assault are facing delays of up to four years in getting justice.It also called for more Nightingale courts to be opened, quicker.Shadow justice.