England and Wales to Trial AI Legal Assistants in Crown Courts Amid Concerns Over Staffing and Accuracy
The UK government will pilot AI-powered virtual legal assistants in crown courts in England and Wales, announced by Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy at London Tech Week. The move comes as the crown court backlog has reached a record high of over 80,000 cases, more than double pre-pandemic levels. Legal professionals have welcomed the technology cautiously but warn it must not be used as a substitute for proper funding and staffing.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy announced plans to trial AI virtual assistants in crown courts as part of a broader effort to address England and Wales's record court backlog, which now exceeds 80,000 cases. Judges are also set to use a new AI tool to identify trial-ready cases and group similar hearings together, according to the Ministry of Justice. The Law Society, representing over 200,000 solicitors, has called for thorough evaluation of the pilot and transparency about its outcomes, stressing that AI cannot replace adequate court funding and staffing. The announcement comes against a backdrop of documented AI failures in legal contexts, including two recent cases where fictitious case-law citations — suspected or confirmed to be AI-generated — caused significant disruption, and a separate incident where Microsoft Copilot produced an 'AI hallucination' that influenced a police decision to ban football fans. Freedom of information data reveals that 2,600 crown court trials are not listed until at least 2028, with 29 cases not scheduled until 2030. The government has also separately announced plans to scale back jury trials as part of wider justice system reform.
What's missing
Neither source specifies which AI systems or vendors will power the virtual legal assistants, the timeline or scale of the pilot, or what specific safeguards will be built into the trial to prevent AI hallucinations in a legal setting.
How coverage differed
The Guardian framed the story with significant emphasis on legal profession warnings, documented AI failures, and risks to justice system integrity, while Sky News led with the government's stated goal of reducing waiting times for victims, presenting the initiative in a more straightforwardly positive light.
What different sources said
- The GuardianLeft
Plan for AI legal assistants in England and Wales ‘cannot replace funding and staff’, lawyers say
- Sky News PoliticsCenter
AI to be used in crown courts to reduce time victims have to wait
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