The Swansea placement experience
For the past five days, I have been commuting to Swansea. This is because I was assigned by the university to undergo a five day placement in the Swansea Crown Court. I was to shadow a judge, the purpose of which was to give us an opportunity to witness the courtroom process. To the uninitiated, the crown court deals exclusively with criminal cases, an area in the law which I have a keen interest in. Therefore, I looked forward to the experience.
I must say, going back and forth from Cardiff to Swansea everyday is physically tiring. It takes about an hour by train between the two cities, and as I had to be in court at about 9 something in the morning, I thus have to wake up early every day to catch the train. I did not enjoy this aspect of the experience, as well as the train ride itself, as it is difficult to keep yourself occupied for an hour especially when you’re fasting and your stomach is growling for food. However, I was not alone, some of my other coursemates were also assigned to be in Swansea with different judges, ‘my’ particular judge had three students, including me, himself.
I did enjoy the courtroom experience, however. I basically had to attend any hearings or trials which ‘my’ particular judge was sitting in. One thing that struck me immediately was the friendly relationship between barristers, even if they are on opposing sides. For example, if the judge directed a question of law to one counsel, his opponent would flip open Archbold (basically the ‘bible’ of criminal procedure) and look for the answer, and then pointed it out to his colleague on the opposing side. This was a far cry from what one sees in TV dramas, especially American ones, and I do not know whether this is simply due to the fact that the situation was such here in the UK or whether, being on TV, the courtroom portrayal was ‘dramaticised’ in other to make for compelling television.
Also, during our Advocacy lessons in the course, we were told repeatedly to avoid as much as possible from referring to our notes. Witnessing reality in practice, I noted that the barristers do in fact read off their notes frequently. I suppose that because we are being teached, our tutors want to ensure that we learnt the ‘proper’ way. Whether we choose to apply it in practice is a different matter, I guess. In any case, the barristers had to make sure they know what they’re talking about, in order to answer any questions posed by the judge. And question these judges do! From what I say, the whole process is very interventionist in nature, with the judge asking a lot of questions, to the extant of asking counsels what, in the opinion, should he do in a particular area of the law. More than ever, I realise the importance of being able to speak fluently in this profession that I choose. One must be able to explain what one is trying to present in the most effective of ways.
Another aspect of courtroom trial which I was able to witness was the fascinating procedure of cross-examination. This is basically whereby a witness called by one party is asked questions by the lawyer of the opposing side. A good barrister will be able to reveal holes in a witness’s story by this method. In fact, I saw a defendant shooting himself in the foot repeatedly during cross-examination by contradicting himself again and again. Suffice to say, the jury found him guilty of the offence that he was charged with.
Ahh… the jury system. I saw a couple of jury trials and I have to say, after seeing it with my own eyes, I am glad that Malaysia no longer have such a system. This is because, while the function of the jury is to decide whether a defendant is guilty or not based on the evidence and using their common sense, trials are inevitably a very technical affair. Even a student who has effectively studied the law for the past 5 years like me have difficulty in following the course of the trial sometimes, what more Mr. Layman who has never encountered such technicalities before? It can sometimes be hard to commit one’s full attention to the trial, especially during the boring bits (and yes, there ARE boring bits, I myself nearly dozed off a number of times). To leave the fate defendants on the hands of people who did not understand the law seemed very hazardous to me.
All in all however, I enjoyed my five day experience in Swansea. ‘My’ judge was very friendly and accommodating, and the famous South Wales friendliness was very prevalent amongst the court staff. I look forward to my next placement week in December.
