UK officials looking to do away with some jury trials

Proposals for reforms to the legal system are a matter of hot debate in the UK at the moment, with the government determined to press ahead with plans to scrap jury trials for thousands of criminal cases in England and Wales. Under the plans, offenses likely to attract sentences of three years or less would be heard by a judge sitting alone. Ministers say the change will help tackle the huge backlog of 80,000 cases in the Crown Court. But as Nik Martin, from our partners at Deutsche Welle, DW, reports, the proposals have triggered strong opposition — with lawyers and judges warning against the erosion of a right long seen as a cornerstone of the British justice system.