Lord Burnett of Maldon expected no change to the way that serious charges — such as rape and murder — were tried in England and Wales. The least serious offences would continue to be decided by magistrates.
But between those extremes were cases — such as assault, theft and burglary — that could be tried either by magistrates or by a judge and jury. At present, a defendant charged with one of these so-called ‘either-way’ offences can insist on jury trial.
Lord Burnett told the BBC Radio 4 programme Law in Action: ‘A possibility that I believe is worthy of consideration by policymakers is to legislate to enable, for a short time, the disposal of either-way trials in the Crown court by a judge sitting with two magistrates.
For full article https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/limits-on-jury-trials-may-be-needed-says-lcj/5104649.article?utm_source=gazette_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Jury+trial+limits+%7c+Court+safety+demands+%7c+Rozenberg_06%2f16%2f2020.