Jury Bundles…

Welcome to week 20 of the court visit breakdown!

Here is your backstory:

• This case was a breach of a restraining order

• I observed both a witness and the defendant giving evidence

I arrived at the court at 10am ready to observe this case. I had previously looked at the court listings (don’t forget to make use of Courtserve) and thought I would choose this case to listen to.

I entered the courtroom, stood when the judge entered, and observed as the jury took their seats.

To begin with the witness gave their evidence. They had made use of a special measure, which entitled them to a screen. This screen means that the defendant and anyone in the public gallery is not able to see the witness, and the witness cannot see them. This is to ensure that the witness is comfortable enough to give their best evidence. As this special measure was in place, the judge began by giving a warning to the jury explaining that although the screen is there, the jury should not make any judgement on either the witness or the defendant because of it.

The prosecution and defence subsequently questioned the witness. The witness had previously seen the defendant in the area of where she lives. She gave the evidence that she had seen the defendant walking towards her down a path. He had said hello and stroked her dog, and then carried on walking towards the house of the defendant’s wife. The witness explained that she then called the defendant’s wife to warn her of his presence, as she knew that the defendant being in that area is breaching the conditions of his restraining order.

During this questioning, it was interesting to see how some cases heavily rely on the use of the jury bundle. The jury bundle is documents bound together, that have relevance to the case and either the prosecution or defence have selected to show the jury when presenting their case. In this case, the jury bundle was used predominantly to show the jury exactly the route that the defendant was walking, relying on maps taken of the area. The witness was then asked a number of questions, where she could rely on the map to make it easier to explain to the jury the area she saw the defendant in.

Following this, the defendant began to give his evidence. Again, the jury bundle came into use. The defendant had visited the area on a number of different occasions, therefore, where the defendant described the different routes he took, the jury was able to mark on their bundles the dates in which he took each route. During his evidence, the defendant explained that he had gone into the area to retrieve some of his belongings from the garage, which was completely separated from the house. He reiterated many times that he did not go to the house with the intention to breach his restraining order, but rather he needed his belongings for work and living arrangements, and to collect documents that would be used to finalise his divorce from his wife.

Although this was a part-heard trial, so it was difficult to pinpoint the exact facts of the case, it was interesting to see the behind the scenes work of the barristers come into play. To hear the line of questioning they have prepared, as well as the jury bundle they have made to assist with the line of questioning.

See you next week!