Reporting the Courts

This week I attended a first year media law lecture on reporting the courts. As the specialist court reporter for WINOL I was asked to come and speak to the new generation of journalists, about my experiences as a crime and court reporter.

For anyone interested in learning about the UK court system here are my notes.

Courtesy of Winchester Journalism 

Two Jurisdictions: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland

In the UK, the supreme power lies in Her Majesty the Queen. The royal prerogative is the body recognised in common law and sometimes in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy. The Queen does not have to obey parliament as she has the overruling power. The government are there to advise the Queen, and Palace Whitehall which is the main residence for English Monarchs help run the country.

Executive - They run the country - (HM the Queen) - Whitehall

Legislature - Keep it in check (Parliament) - Westminster

Judiciary - Mediates between executive and legislature - Administer Justice

Society - Freedom to voice opinion

Crime is an offence against society as a whole e.g murder

Civil law is a dispute between two citizens e.g divorce

Standard of Proof - Beyond reasonable doubt 
The jury must prove that the accused did it beyond doubt. They must find the person not guilty unless they are absolutely sure that only this person has committed the crime.

Criminal division is all about punishment, it is not about compensation for victims unlike civil law.

Crime is a breach of a statute (Law passed by Parliament). Police can arrest on suspicion, but must have 'reasonable grounds' for arrest.

It is known as a committal when someone who has been arrested for a serious crime is held in a cell for up to 24 hours. When they are charged they charged they appear before a magistrates, the defendant in a serious case will then be sent to a crown court to be trialled in front of a jury.

A minor offence, known as non indictable are processed in a Magistrates Court. In a Magistrates court there is no jury. An indictable, major offence is then processed by the Crown Court where a jury is present. The jury is made up of 12 randomly selected citizens, no one is allowed to talk to the jury incase they influence or intimidate them.

If people fail to attend their trial it is treated as a separate offence known as 'absconding'.

The defendant has not been given a fair trial if the jury are prejudice, this means that they have pre-judged them. If this occurs, the defendant will be let of as the judge will deem it as unsafe.

The accused can either be held on remand which is down in the cells, or be granted bail. For lesser offences, they can be on bail for up to two years before there trial reaches the Crown Court. Police can refuse bail if they think the defendant is a danger to the public or if they think they will abscond and run away. In terrorism cases the defendant can be held without charge for 28 days.

In the British System the person accused must be present in the court.