Northern court users are braced for sweeping changes after a leaked Ministry of Justice briefing showed ministers want most Crown Court cases in England and Wales decided by a judge alone, with juries reserved for the gravest crimes. The MoJ says no final decision has been taken, but the outline has already rattled lawyers from Manchester to Newcastle.

The document, circulated across Whitehall, proposes a new Crown Court Bench Division handling cases likely to attract sentences of up to five years. Juries would be guaranteed for murder, manslaughter and rape, with a public interest test in exceptional cases, while complex frauds could also be heard by a single judge.

Ministers justify the shift by pointing to a record backlog: 78,329 Crown Court cases were waiting at the end of June, with some trials already being listed into 2029. Officials privately warn the logjam could exceed 100,000 without further action.

The North is carrying a heavy share of those delays. Criminal Bar Association data shows defendants in custody wait a median 265 days in Greater Manchester and 166 days on Merseyside; local barristers say that is now creeping up. Separate reporting this summer put almost 5,000 pending cases across Greater Manchester’s three Crown Court centres.

It isn’t only the caseload. Court buildings across England and Wales are in disrepair, with a Law Society survey detailing asbestos, leaks and closures. One stark incident in South Tyneside involved maggots falling from a ceiling after dead birds rotted in the roof - hardly conditions for timely or trusted justice.

Senior lawyers are pushing back. The Law Society has cautioned that curtailing juries risks undermining public confidence and won’t fix systemic problems without proper investment, while the Criminal Bar Association has warned against “radical solutions” that ignore evidence.

Ministers say they recognise the crisis. Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy points to a record 1,250 extra sitting days this year and insists only major reform will get victims a faster hearing - but funding alone, he argues, won’t clear the queues.

Politics has moved quickly. The Guardian reports the proposals have been sent round government for sign‑off, drawing immediate criticism from the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Jess Brown‑Fuller, who both say scrapping most juries risks fairness and public trust.

Today’s plan goes further than Sir Brian Leveson’s government‑commissioned review. He proposed limiting the right to elect a jury in offences capped at two years and using a judge with two magistrates for many either‑way cases. Lammy’s leaked model points to judge‑only trials up to five years.

For victims and defendants here in the North East, the picture is already bleak. BBC Look North has reported people waiting years, with one solicitor in Middlesbrough warning clients are “struggling to recollect events” by the time a trial finally arrives and a victim saying life felt “on hold”.

Legal bodies warn the risk is simply shifting a queue from one door to another. Without sustained investment in people, sitting days and buildings, moving trials from juries to judges may change the forum rather than the wait - especially in busy centres like Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester.

The proposals apply to England and Wales, not Scotland or Northern Ireland, and still require political sign‑off. With a formal announcement expected once Whitehall’s write‑round is complete, the next test will be whether ministers can show the North’s courts get faster justice without losing public faith in the verdict.