§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the circumstances in which a court can proceed without a jury. [41366]
§ Mr. Keith Bradley[holding answer 11 March 2002]In England and Wales, some 95 per cent. of criminal cases are conducted in magistrates courts without a jury. Criminal trials in the Crown court are conducted with a jury. Pre-trial issues such as bail or preliminary rulings are heard by the judge alone. He or she can also order an acquittal before the jury is empanelled. Once a trial has started, a hearing to consider the admissibility of evidence or a point of law is invariably heard in the absence of a jury. Sentencing is a matter for the judge alone. In the Coroner's court, the majority of inquests are heard without a jury.