The Fraud (Trials Without a Jury) Bill 2007 was a proposed Act of Parliament introduced by the United Kingdom government. Its intention was to abolish trials by jury in complex fraud cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland by amending section 43 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The Bill was given its First Reading in the House of Commons on 16 November 2006. In a highly unusual move it was blocked by the House of Lords using a delaying tactic in March 2007. Lord Kingsland said:
On the substance of the matter, as your Lordships are well aware, jury trial has been a central component in the conduct of all serious criminal trials for about the past 700 years. Its contribution to the preservation of the liberty of the individual, and to the legitimacy of Government, is quite incalculable.
Famous quotes containing the words fraud and/or bill:
“Things gained through unjust fraud are never secure.”
—Sophocles (497–406/5 B.C.)
“As for farming, I am convinced that my genius dates from an older era than the agricultural. I would at least strike my spade into the earth with such careless freedom but accuracy as the woodpecker his bill into a tree.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)