Recommendation 27

The sole reliance on using the likely length of sentence to determine allocation to the Crown Court Bench Division (CCBD) will cause problems. A defendant with several previous convictions is more likely to receive a jury trial than a defendant without any. Children are less likely than adults to receive a jury trial. Sir Brian Leveson recommended that the judge making the determination on allocation should be able to consider “broader issues of legal principle including the likely complexity of the case based on factors such as the number of live witnesses and the volume of expert evidence”. (Conclusion, Paragraph 118)