British Courts: Difference between revisions

A description of the precise procedures that go on in British courts is something for a legal textbook. For those who aren't British, note that it's fairly similar to the American system - an adversarial system with prosecution and defence. This shouldn't be surprising, as the United States inherited [[The Common Law]] from Britain, and many states passed [[wikipedia:Reception|statutes of reception]]: laws that more or less said, "The way the law works in England is how it will work here, unless our statutes or constitution say otherwise." It has many of the same tropes, [[Amoral Attorney]] for example. There are differences.

 

This applies to England and Wales. Scotland does things differently - see below. Some of this stuff applies to other parts of [[The Commonwealth]] as well.

 

 

There are two basic types:

** ''[[V for Vendetta]]'': V blows up the Old Bailey.

** ''[[Rumpole of the Bailey]]'': Centers on a defence barrister who mostly does Crown Court work, usually [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|at the Old Bailey]].

 

 

Unlike in some US states and other jurisdictions, cameras are not allowed in a courtroom, either video or photographic. What you see on news reports are computer re-enactments (using virtual cardboard cutouts, essentially) and drawings of those involved. You can't actually do the drawings in the court itself (also unlike the United States, where there's usually a court artist scribbling away somewhere in the room), so notes are taken and scenes drawn later.

 

 

Newspapers will not give an opinion on the case during the trial, either in headlines or editorials. They cannot discuss the past record of the defendant and the jury are not told this either.

Breaching these rules puts you in contempt of court and is a criminal offence.

 

 

The most obvious feature that you'll see in a British court case on screen are the outfits. Let's bring over a famous fictional US lawyer, [[Perry Mason]]. If he was a QC (see below) defending a case in the UK, Perry Mason would be wearing a silk gown over his suit, a black coat and waistcoat, plus a short horsehair wig. Clerical bands are also worn around stand up collars (for men) or flat ones (women). The bands are often incorrectly portrayed as huge great flappy things.

More junior lawyers are in fact called junior barristers and wear the same attire as their senior counterparts, except that their gowns are not made from silk but from an inferior material.

 

 

** 'Recorders' also wear black. These are part time Judges who are practising barristers. They are called 'Your Honour' and look like Appeal Court Judges, but wear the curly wig. Invariably hear shop lifting cases.

* Red: High Court Judges. Sit alone hearing mega serious criminal trials with a Jury. Known as 'Red Judges' they have elaborate fur cuffs and resemble Father Christmas when they've got their glad rags on. Called 'My Lord' or 'My Lady'. Officially "Mr/Mrs Justice (surname)"

*** Someone sounds bitter.

*** The explanation of why judges ask such questions is nevertheless correct - for the information of the jury.

 

 

See [[Gaol Time]].

 

 

Britain used to employ the "double jeopardy" rule, but has now removed it- a case may be re-tried if significant new evidence comes to light. This has only happened twice so far

 

 

There are some terms that non-Brits will not be familiar with. The courts themselves decided that Brits themselves found many of them strange and changed some of them in 1994.

** There is also one in [[Stroke Country]] and another in Ireland itself.

** Inns of Court exist in the US, but they are far less prominent and you can be in a Bar Association instead.

** If you're a good enough barrister, you can be appointed King's or Queen's Counsel, called "taking silk". This is now done by a nine-member panel, rather than the Government. A famous QC is Cherie Booth, better known by many as Cherie Blair, the wife of the former Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]].

** In fact, "the bar" was originally a barrier between the tables where the students ate, and those of the barristers. A student was required to "eat your terms". That is, dine at the Inn some number of times, for three years. If and when the senior lawyers decided he was acceptable he was invited to join them beyond said barrier.

* Before the courts were all mashed together (partly in 1857, completely in 1873) there were SIX different flavor lawyers! Barristers, the equity court (Chancery), serjeants in common-law (King's Bench, Common Pleas, and the Exchequer), and advocates in admiralty and church courts (5 different courts). The barristers worked with attorneys, the serjeants with solicitors, and the advocates with proctors. Some of these show up in 19th century novels.

 

 

* "My Learned (prounounced Learn-ed) friend" is how barristers will refer to each other. They will always use the third person, anything else is considered rude. Sometimes 'learned' is omitted in lower courts.

* "Would this be a convenient moment?" spoken to a lawyer is a judicial euphemism for "Please shut up now it's lunch time"

 

 

A lot. For starters, there are three types of basic criminal courts:

[[Category:Useful Notes/Britain]]

[[Category:British Courts]]