Intoxicated witness…
Welcome to Week 10 of the court visit breakdown!
Here is your backstory:
This was a Crown Court proceeding
The trial had not yet begun, counsel was organising the witnesses that were to be called and preparing to swear the jury
Here the main witness was also the victim
I walked into Courtroom 3 and sat at the back in the public gallery. The defendant was brought up from the cells, and the judge entered the court.
The main deliberation today was whether the case will proceed or be adjourned until the next day.
The prosecution rose and explained to the judge that the main witness that they planned to call to the witness box, has arrived intoxicated and is not fit to give evidence today. It was later explained that the witness had taken a substance to help control the effects of withdrawal, and to deal with the nerves of coming to court.
The defence then gave a small statement explaining that the defendant had been held in prison for this length of time, he is ready and willing to proceed with his trial. The defence then drew on some of the witnesses’ previous convictions, that being a suspended sentence for drugs that had been breached in January, relaying that this supports the defence that the defendant is going to rely on, and therefore, should be a consideration.
The judge finalised by conducting a summing up speech. She explained the main points that she must deliberate on when making the decision whether to adjourn the proceedings or not. This began with the public interest stage*, stating that the victim was vulnerable and therefore it is important to continue with the trial, alongside the seriousness of the case. Subsequently, the judge considered the prejudice against the defendant and making him wait for his trial to begin. Additionally, the judge looked at whether the witness’s intoxication was self-inflicted and to what degree, considering the effects addiction can have on someone’s decision making.
After considering all these factors, she concluded that they really balanced each other out, however, she will be in favour of adjourning the case until the next day. The judge required the prosecution to deliver strong words to the witness, to ensure that this will not be repeated the next day.
That was the end of the proceedings today. It was interesting to see an insight into the life of a judge rather than the barristers, looking at the deliberations they must make before making any kind of decision.
See you next week!
*The prosecution must satisfy the evidential stage and public interest stage when deciding whether to prosecute a case. The public interest stage looks at the effect on the victim/community, previous convictions, age of the defendant etc.