Court Appearance
When Judge Kamil visited Bradford Law School to address students he kindly invited them to Bradford Combined Courts for a behind the scenes tour.
Our students never pass up an opportunity to see things for themselves and so the following week an eager group visited the Courthouse to meet Judge Stephen Gullick before his first case of the day.
Behind the Scenes in Court
The courthouse was erected in 1989 to a design common to new court buildings.
We were shown around Courtroom No2 of the Crown Court by Michael, one of the court ushers, who was extremely informative and helpful. We saw the public gallery fitted with screens to prevent the intimidation of witnesses. The space for the public was extremely limited. The court has a high security dock where defendants can be held behind a screen, the box for Police, Probation Officers and press, benches for barristers with counsel seated behind, the jurors' box and witness box. We queried some fittings on the witness box and heard how this enabled screens and curtains to be attached to protect the identity of certain witnesses, for instance undercover Police Officers. Children now give evidence by video link. All proceedings are recorded on tape. For obvious reasons no cameras are allowed within the court confines and there is strict security.
Michael explained "We make witnesses as comfortable as possible, but some witnesses go to pieces. People have a misconception about what the court is like but we try to create a friendly atmosphere."
We then sat in the jurors' box and enjoyed a panoramic view of the courtroom while we read the jurors' oath and noticed all the different variations according to religious faith. The court, which had appeared surprisingly small from the limited view of the public area, seemed much more expansive from a juror's perspective.
Introduction to the Court by Judge Gullick
Then we rose for the entrance of His Honour Judge Gullick, Resident Judge in Bradford and Recorder. He explained "The court is the centre for criminal cases for Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield and surrounding areas. It covers everything from stealing tubes of toothpaste from Boots to murder.
The secure dock is there to prevent the flight of potentially dangerous and disruptive defendants. It is virtually escape proof. r. The design of the court features a lot of doors and obstacles to deter escape.
It is sad that the public must sit behind darkened glass rather than have a full view of proceedings but it is a reflection of what has happened over the last 30 years. In old courts, like the one in City Hall, the public sat in a gallery above with an unrestricted view. But repeated complaints from jurors that they were being eyeballed mean that public seats now face forward, not into the dock and a screen was erected. Now visitors can hear what goes on better than they can see. This is the price we have to pay for the occasional case of intimidation. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 has measures for discharging juries in cases of intimidation.
The court is fitted with TV links so that the witness gives evidence from a separate room in the building. This is usually employed for children but also used in rape cases. There are cameras and microphones on the judge and barristers so the person at the other end of the link can see and hear them.
There are about 80 jurors in the building at one time. Jurors have a separate area for seating, eating et cetera - even separate doors, so they are always kept away from the public."
Judge Gullick enquired if any of the students wished to become barristers and offered encouragement:
Career Advice on being a barrister
"Stick with it. It is a difficult road but persist. It is not cheap but it is becoming easier. Pupils are now paid but when I did it you weren't. There is still a shortage of women at the bar and a lack of female judges.
To be a judge you need to be about 45 as you need the experience. It takes time for people to get through the system and you need experience of the law before sitting in judgement on your fellow human beings. I spent 20 years as a barrister and 4 to 5 years as a part-time judge. If you decide to become a solicitor that is a difficult thing to get into too but again persist."
Our students then split into smaller groups to sit in on the various cases being heard that day.