What to observe outside of the court…

Welcome to week 8 of the court visit breakdown!

So, a slightly different blog post this week. When I attended court, there really wasn’t very much to observe in the public gallery.

• One of the courts had a sign that said it wasn’t sitting today, however, I later found out that it was (the location of the public gallery in this court is quite difficult to get to, so not really accessible if the hearing has already started unfortunately)

• Another court had a trial sitting, however, whilst I was waiting for it to begin, I was told that it was immediately going to be adjourned

• Lastly, the other main public gallery was closed due to a counsel only hearing

So, as you can see, it was not the most successful court visit this week

Therefore, I thought it best to use this week to write about what you can observe outside of the court. Whilst your waiting, you will be sitting in the waiting area outside of the courts, rather than in the public gallery itself. Therefore, it can still be fairly interesting to observe your surroundings.

One of the main things I have observed during these court visits, is there is a lot of waiting. Although the court listings are set to begin at 10am, they typically begin slightly later, I’d say closer to 10:30am (this is not to say don’t get there before 10am though!)

Obviously, when sitting in the public gallery, you are simply there to observe, so it can feel like a very long time. However, from the barristers, judges and court staff point of view, it must feel as though that time goes very quickly, whilst they prepare everything behind the scenes.

This is another aspect I have noticed, is watching all the barristers and court ushers rush around. Finding rooms to prepare for their case, speak with their clients or the opposing barrister, or going to and from the witness service area of the building and the cells below (depending on whether you’re defending or prosecuting). This usually makes for quite an exciting atmosphere. I was lucky enough to go down to one of the cells when shadowing, and it is definitely an experience, something I’d recommend for anyone interested, particularly in defence.

The last aspect I have noticed (and maybe a tip for when you attend) is don’t assume you have gone unnoticed. This can very much depend on the size of the Law Courts that you are attending, however, my personal experience has shown that often people will notice you and wonder why you are there. Typically, I will get approached by court ushers, witness support services or even members of the defendant’s family that have also been sitting in the public gallery. All these interactions are usually very friendly and simply out of curiosity, however, it can be very beneficial to speak to the court staff as they are able to tell you (as in this case) if a trial is going ahead, going to be adjourned or simply not worth observing (they can be particularly helpful when they find out you’re a student).

Although not the usual theme of these blog posts, I hope you still enjoyed!

See you next week!