In an article published in Socialist Lawyer magazine in spring 1992, Starmer, who was then reportedly the secretary of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, wrote: “The right to trial by jury is an important factor in the delicate balance between the power of the state and the freedom of the individual. The further it is restricted, the greater the imbalance. Despite the inevitable increase in costs, the Haldane Society urges that there be a right of trial by jury in all criminal cases.”