Magistrates and judges to use more AI, says Lammy - as jury trials reduced

Justice Secretary David Lammy wants to see more AI-assisted magistrates as he doubles down on his plans to reduce the number of jury trials.

Speaking from a Microsoft AI event in London, Mr Lammy, who is also the deputy prime minister, confirmed members of the judiciary had been using the tools, and he now wanted "to see more AI".

Mr Lammy said as part of the initiative, the government would ramp up investment in its "justice AI" project.

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He also reiterated his commitment to reducing the number of jury trials being held in England and Wales in a bid to reduce the courts backlog, as well as his recent announcement committing to increase the number of court sitting days.

It comes following Sky News uncovering that at least 21 police forces have continued using Microsoft's Copilot tool, despite hallucinations contributing to the banning of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a game against Aston Villa - something Mr Lammy previously criticised.

Mr Lammy said trials in the probation system with AI had helped record meetings between offenders and officers, saving 25,000 hours of time by helping transcribe more than 150,000 meetings.

"We're testing transcription in the courts and tribunals based on the same technology," Mr Lammy said.

"And in the immigration and asylum chamber, some judges are using it to help formulate notes and write remarks.

"We're also piloting AI for legal advisers and district judges in the magistrates' courts to speed up case progression by transcribing material, and summarising their judgments.

"I want to see more AI initiatives like this, so we're going to invest more in our in-house justice AI unit."

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Richard Atkinson, a solicitor and former head of the Law Society, said: "We support modernising the justice system and adopting new technology, provided it enhances access to justice, is reliable and ensures fairness.

"AI is not, however, a silver bullet to improve the justice system. It might help to ease some administrative pressures, but it is not a replacement for much-needed investment in the court estate and additional court staff.

"Where liberty and reputation are at stake, the government must take particular care to safeguard people's rights and ensure fair processes. All decisions, especially those with serious consequences to people's lives, must be made by humans."

Defending his proposed changes to the justice system, Mr Lammy referenced how Margaret Thatcher had changed where cases like taking a vehicle without consent were heard, and the fact crown courts were only created in the early 1970s.

On jury trials, Mr Lammy said: "It does not change the fundamental right to a fair trial, which remains absolute.

"But there's no automatic right to a trial by jury.

"And in the current system, only 3% in fact of criminal cases currently go before a jury.

"The vast majority of cases are already heard fairly by magistrates without a jury.

"And following our changes, around three quarters of trials in the crown court will still be heard by a jury, including the majority of youth cases serious enough to go to the Crown."

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Darren Hardman, the chief executive of Microsoft in the UK, said the Ministry of Justice was "one of the fastest-growing adopters of agentic AI".

Agentic AI is the technology that can take instructions in normal English, and then use a computer to carry out new tasks, like creating documents or talking to other software.

Mr Hardman added: "Whilst we've already delivered impactful outcomes together, the potential for future transformation across the department is incredibly exciting and a privilege to partner on."

(c) Sky News 2026: Magistrates and judges to use more AI, says Lammy - as jury trials reduced