Magistrates and judges are as human as the rest of us. None of them are perfect. Many strive for perfection as they grapple with their positions of extraordinary power over others, and they don’t always succeed. Some are just plain dodgy. I’ll never forget the senior magistrate I met for evening drinks when I was a junior newspaper reporter. He was a prominent local businessman and I had to interview him for some story or other.

He got absolutely smashed. Proper three sheets to the wind stuff (all on my expenses, I might add). And when we were done, he scooped his car keys off the table and offered me a lift home in his Jaguar. I declined, and as politely and casually as I could manage, asked him: “Are you sure you should be driving? What if you get stopped by the police?”

He stared at me in astonishment. “Don’t be ridiculous! I’m a magistrate!” And off he wobbled to his car. Next morning I was assigned routine court reporting duties. My friend from the night before was chairman of the bench. The very first case before the court was for drink-driving: a young man caught behind the wheel three times over the limit.

He pleaded guilty, but my contact let him have it all the same. A real dressing down – outrageous, irresponsible behaviour, a menace on the road, should be thoroughly ashamed of himself, etc. Banned for 12 months.

As the miscreant shuffled away, my friend turned to me where I was sitting on the press bench. He grinned, put his forefinger to his lips, and gave me a huge conspiratorial wink.

All of which brings me to this week’s proposals to scrap UK jury trials for all but the most serious of crimes. This is a terrible idea. The right to trial by jury is not only an ancient guarantee of everyone’s right to a fair hearing and a just verdict, but a valuable check on the behaviour of the justice system, including that of the individuals who preside over it.

Justice Secretary David Lammy, the man behind this deeply flawed suggestion, once described jury trials as “fundamental to our democracy”. Yet now, for what amounts to purely financial and efficiency reasons, he is prepared to destroy a right enshrined in Magna Carta for the last 810 years.

Magna Carta gave power to the people. What utter arrogance for a here today, gone tomorrow politician to assume he has the right to take it away.