#612 | Should Britain Abolish Jury Trials? (English Listening Practice)
English Learning for Curious Minds | A More Interesting Way To Learn English

#612 | Should Britain Abolish Jury Trials? (English Listening Practice)

B2Upper-intermediateMay 21, 202623 min

Who should decide if you are guilty: the state, or a group of 12 ordinary citizens? England is now considering getting rid of jury trials for thousands of cases. It would be the biggest change to the justice system since the Middle Ages. Crown Court backlog: years-long waits for trials.Government bill to limit juries for mid-level offences.Serious crimes still keep juries: murder, rape, terrorism.Legal community warns against losing a key safeguard.How jury trials work in England and Wales.England uses juries; Europe uses judge-led trials.History: Athens, Assize of Clarendon, Mag...

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0:00

Hello, hello, hello and welcome to English Learning for Curious Minds by Leonardo English, the show where you can listen to fascinating stories and learn weird and wonderful things about the world at the same time as improving your English. I'm Alastair Budge and today we are going to be talking about the law, specifically

0:28

jury trials in Britain and their future. The role of jury trials is a subject of ongoing debate, and the law might well be changing. So today we are going to look at the unusual idea and uneven history of the jury, and at how 12 strangers with no legal training can decide whether someone is guilty or not

0:54

guilty. But before we get right into today's episode, I want to remind you that you can become a member of Leonardo English and follow along with the interactive transcript and subtitles over on the website which is leonardoenglish.com.

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