Jury trials for the majority of criminal cases could soon be scrapped under new proposals drawn up by Justice Secretary David Lammy.
Under the plans, only the most serious cases and a small number of public interest cases would be heard by a jury.
The BBC reports the deputy prime minister wants to ask Parliament to end jury trails for defendants who would be jailed for up to five years.
The internal government briefing by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said no final decision had been taken by the government.
The proposals are an attempt to end record court backlogs in England and Wales.
The MoJ documents says 78,000 cases are waiting to be completed, meaning suspects being charged with serious crimes today may not have a trial until late 2029 or early 2030.