Idle Thoughts

Having had my opinion of the judicial system formed by what I have seen on TV programmes, I decided it was time to find out what actually happens, in real life. On this basis and a little internet research I went along to Oxford Crown Court one monday, to watch the proceedings.

There are three types of courts in the UK. County courts, also known as small claims courts handle just that: small claims, made by members of the public. There’s very little ceremony and a lot of the business is done without the “customers” being present. Magistrates courts are made up of three JPs (Justices of the Peace: members of the public who get a little legal training, but rely on a clerk for more advice). they deal with non-serious crime including short prison terms and fines up to a few thousand pounds. Crown courts are the “trial by jury” courts. they deal with the serious offences and are the ones that feature in most TV scenes that deal with courtroom drama. With a few restrictions (such as proceedings involving children), members of the public are permitted to attend any court as spectators.

My choice of Oxford was due to proximity and it having 5 courtrooms, so I would get a choice of different cases and could therefore pick a variety of proceedings to watch. Since I was interested in the process rather than the outcome I wasn’t too worried about what cases were due to be heard. If you want to see a particular case, it is possible to phone the court to make enquiries. When I turned up, I had to go through an airport-style security scanner, complete with tray for metallic items. Once through this I was not at all sure where to go, so I headed towards the enquiries desk. When I explained what I wanted, a very helpful lady came out from behind her desk and talked to me about the various cases that were being heard that day. It turned out that one of the courtrooms was out of action and two others were hosting procedural hearings, so only twoo courts were dealing out justice that day. I was also briefed on courtroom etiquette. Apart from the warnings liberally pasted on all the walls about turning off your mobile phone, I was told that on entering the court to stop briefly inside the door and bow to the judge, not to make any noise and definitely not to start eating. Judges have the power to have you locked up for the day for contempt of court - a power they are, apparently, not afraid to use!

The five courts have a large waiting area, which was full of a strange mixture of people. On the one hand were legal professionals: looking highly paid and well-dressed in sober outfits. On the other were a mostly scruffy bunch who I assume to be “customers” or witnesses. I didn’t really fit in either group - wearing chinos and a sweater (I had asked about dress code and been told, “nothing special”). In sartorial terms, the closest I came to an identifiable group were the court reporters for local papers. Each courtroom had a TV monitor outside that displayed a timetable of the order of business - and how it were proceeding. It is not necessary to wait for a break in the hearing, provided you aren’t disruptive yo can enter the courtroom at any time, making sure to act with due deference of course.

I selected what looked like a promising case and duly entered. There were a couple of rows of seats on either side of the entrance - some reserved for court staff and others for members of the public. I duly sat in a court staff seat as it was closest to the door and I didn’t see the sign until I was in. As it happens, the seats were mostly empty and no-one made a fuss. This particular hearing was to sentence someone who had already pled guilty. The defence solicitor was asking for leniency, which basically amounted to “pleeeeeeeeze”. After about 15 minutes of what sounded to me like fairly dry and detached statements, the plea finished and the judge made his decision. We all stood up and he left the room.

Since that hearing finished, the schedule showed there was going to be a short time before the next case started (which didn’t sound very interesting anyway). I decided to go off to the other courtroom that was hearing a case. This was even more dull: it was a pre-trial hearing for the judge to decide what evidence could be put before a jury that would be sworn in later on when the case started in earnest. This hearing was primarily legal arguments about what previous convictions and/or arrests could be used to demonstrate to the jury a “pattern of behaviour” regarding the case against on of the defendants. Again, it was all presented in a very calm, measured way. The judge did seem to be asking a lot of questions on the same subject and various minor variations on it. Eventually he called an end to it and withdrew to consider his judgement. We all stood up again.

So, there we are. Five courtrooms and no trials taking place. I think this was partly because I chose a Monday for my visit and the week hadn’t really started. I may decide to follow up on this visit in the future, but if I do I’ll phone ahead and find a day that has a trial scheduled. Talking to people afterwards, it does sound possible to see the whole process in a day: from having a jury sworn in, through the prosecution and defence cases to a verdict and maybe sentencing too.

Hopefully this is the only view I’ll ever get of the court system: from the public seats.