Write to letters@thetimes.co.ukSir, As far back as 2001 the Auld report proposed a third tier of courts, comprising a district judge and two magistrates to deal with middle-range cases (“Legal experts back more trials without juries to cut backlog”, Apr 14). The court would give reasons for its decisions, unlike juries, whose reasoning can only be guessed at. This would have resulted in fewer and shorter trials, a reduction in delays and an enormous saving of public money. The idea was dropped as a result of resistance from magistrates and fear of the political consequences of interfering with the sacred cow of trial by jury. At last, has the time now come for this sensible reform to take place, even driven as
