The Law Society says it cautiously opposes the Government looking into increasing the threshold of jury election

Currently a defendant can choose between a jury or a judge-alone trial in cases where the maximum penalty is at least two years in jail.

The Government's considering increasing this to three, five, or seven years -- claiming jury trials are driving court delays.

But the Law Society's Criminal Law Committee Convenor Chris Macklin says judge-alone trials also take time and money.

He says jurors are a very cheap judgment resource, when compared to a judge's salary and court sitting time.