Trial by jury is a right that needs protecting
(ft.com)28 points by xyzzy3000 20 hours ago
28 points by xyzzy3000 20 hours ago
Trial by jury is a kangaroo court where random people will tell you if they like you or not. Are you ugly, but other party is beautiful and charismatic? Yep you lost the case.
Jury trials are an ancient Germanic tradition without cultural precedent in most countries. Lee Kuan Yew eliminated jury trials in Singapore because he didn’t believe they were viable in a multi-cultural country: https://www.postcolonialweb.org/Singapore/government/leekuan...
Singapore is also a pretty authoritarian state. Not to put down the amazing work that Lee did in making it a functional, successful state that's substantially wealthier than its neighbors, but it's a product of the time and place of its formation that made a lot of hard choices to prevent it from spinning out into nothingness or being absorbed by its much larger neighbors. I wouldn't call it a model for the UK.
Related:
UK: Jury trials scrapped for crimes with sentences of less than three years
Keep in mind the right to a jury trial doesn't mean you are forced to always receive a jury trial. If you think a trial by judge would be better for you then you can always waive your right to be tried by a jury. The right to waive your rights is itself a right.