As part of its law and order commitments, the Government is working to increase timeliness and reduce delays in the courts, including for jury trials.
The criminal jurisdiction of the District Court is under pressure, and one of the main drivers is a recent increase in jury trials. Jury trials are taking longer to resolve than they did five years ago, and more defendants are choosing to be tried by jury than five years ago. This has resulted in a considerable increase in the number of jury trials in the system, adding to delays.
The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 currently upholds the right to choose trial by jury for defendants charged with a crime that, if convicted, may result in a prison sentence of two years or more. This is a “threshold” set in the law that reflects what sort of offences are suitable for giving a defendant the option to choose a trial before a jury, instead of before a judge sitting alone.
Jury trials require more time and resources to resolve, for the courts, prosecutors and defence lawyers, and the public who serve on juries. Jury trials should generally be used to determine serious cases of criminal offending, given the extra time and resource they need. The Ministry of Justice is consulting on two main proposals to improve the timeliness of jury trials:
Within the first proposal, the Ministry is seeking feedback on three options. These would increase the jury trial threshold to offences that are punishable by a term of imprisonment of either:
The aim is to strike the appropriate balance between the seriousness of an offence, and the extra resource and time required to hold a jury trial.
The Ministry is seeking feedback on these proposals over six weeks, from 19 September to 31 October. A discussion document [PDF, 447 KB] has been developed to help people consider all the issues and share their views.
A summary version [PDF, 229 KB] and te reo version [PDF, 450 KB]) of the document are also available.
More details of the proposal are available in the Ministry’s interim Regulatory Impact Statement [PDF, 2.3 MB]. (A final Regulatory Impact Statement will be developed following the consultation period and will inform final Cabinet policy decisions).
Alternatively, you may wish to send your feedback to the Ministry –
By post to:
Courts System Policy
Ministry of Justice
National Office
DX SX10088
Wellington
Or by email to courtspolicy@justice.govt.nz
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