Dear dakhurst-ga,
As a former New Scotland Yard detective, I?ll be pleased to help you
and give you some additional tips. The Old Bailey (the correct title
is the Central Criminal Court), deals with the major criminal cases
which occur in London and some of the south-east of England, and some
of the lesser criminal cases from the City of London. Court One is
famous as the location of some of the important trials of English
legal history, but nowadays not all the notorious trials are heard in
that court. The old architecture and layout of the court does not
always lend itself to the requirements of modern trials where
technology such as computers, video interviews, and filing cabinets
full of exhibits clutter up the court. So yes, pop your head in to see
Court One and experience the atmosphere, but some of the other courts
may have some suitable cases if your seeking to see English criminal
justice in action.
The public gallery is open Monday - Friday 10.00 to 13.00 and 14.00 to
17.00 (cases often finish by 16.00- 16.45) The court is closed on Bank
Holiday Mondays and the day immediately after. There is a reduced
court sitting in August. Spaces in the public gallery can never be
reserved. The queue for the public gallery starts at about 9.30 am.
Security is strict and there is nowhere to leave your cloaks. Some
additional information appears here.
http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/our_services/law_order/central_criminal_court.htm
The entrance to the Public Gallery is on the north side of the
building in Newgate Street. Here?s a map of the area.
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=531757&y=181280&z=1&sv=old+bailey&st=6&tl=Old+Bailey,+London,+EC4m&searchp=newsearch.srf&mapp=newmap.srf
The Court Service web site provides details of cases appear at the Old
Bailey. To save you trying to navigate around the site, this is the
direct link to the daily lists.
http://www.courtnews2.co.uk/courtlists/current/indexdailies.htm
Scroll down to where it says Central Criminal Court and click on the
Daily Courtroom list for the next day. You will see listed here all
the cases that appear in the various courts and a comment on the
status of the case.
First thing in the morning session, most of the courts are engaged in
the administration of cases: setting the date of trials, hearing bail
applications, and preliminary hearings to agree evidential matters.
These will not be of much to interest to you. For example, they are
indicated in the list by: ?For Plea and Directions?, ?For Application
to Break Fixture?, ?Application to Extend Custody Time Limit?,
?Preliminary Hearing?.
Some are engaged in sentencing cases and these are detailed in the
list: ?For Sentence? or ?Committal for Sentence?. In these cases you
will hear the defendant plead guilty to an offence(s). The prosecution
barrister will then outline the facts of the case and the defense will
plead their mitigation. The judge may then pass sentence (it depends
if all the necessary reports have been completed (probation, medical,
etc..)
Some trials will be starting anew. This is indicated by the words:
?For Trial?. If you enter the court at the beginning of the trial you
will hear the arraignment of the defendant, the jury selection (not as
long as in the US), and the opening of the case by the prosecution and
the commencement of calling the witnesses. The time this takes can
vary from one hour to two ? three days depending on the circumstances
of the case.
My advice is if you want to see the cut and thrust of a court case is
to select a court which has on the list: ?Trial (Part Heard)? against
it. This is exactly what is says, the case is underway and with a bit
of luck you will hear witnesses or the defendant giving evidence and
being cross-examined. There?s no guarantee to this though. The case
may be at the stage of prosecution/ defense opening or closing
speeches, judges summing up, or agreed evidence being read out.
If you will not have access to the web when you?re in the UK, don?t
worry, the list is posted outside the court each morning.
Unfortunately, the list does not give any indication of the type of
trial underway, the only way to ascertain this is to Google UK news
sites or read the UK papers the day before to try and see if a
noteworthy trial is being reported in the media. The London newspaper,
the Evening Standard, is a good source of information if you buy it
the evening before your intended visit. You can ask the Public Gallery
ushers if they can recommend any interesting trials (can?t guarantee
if they will help you).
There are other courts in the London area where you can see trials.
Southwark Crown Court, just down from Tower Bridge, deals with lesser
matters but it is easier to move around the courts; you also mingle
with the barristers, witnesses and defendants. You will feel more part
of the system than at the Old Bailey where the public is separated. In
court you will be sitting much closer to the participants; outside the
court, you will be able to over-hear conversations between all the
different parties; and, see some people from the less salubrious side
of UK society.
http://www.courtservice.gov.uk/using_courts/court_info/southwark/
Also worth visiting are the Royal Courts of Justice, in the Strand.
The cases here range from commercial cases to criminal court appeals.
You will not see criminal trials here, but the building has some
wonderful architecture and it has a very ?Victorian? feel to it.
http://www.touruk.co.uk/london_sights/royalcourtsofjustice1.htm
These sites may also give you some additional background information
so you will be able to understand a little easier as to what is
happening in the court.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/QuickFind/GuideToGovernment/G2GMenu8/G2GArticle8/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4003098&chk=L7MDtm
http://www.courtservice.gov.uk/about_us/structure/
http://www.courtservice.gov.uk/about_us/structure/criminal.htm
I hope this has been of some help and that you enjoy your trip. I hope
this answers your question. If it does not, or the answer is unclear,
then please ask for clarification of this research before rating the
answer. I shall respond to the clarification request as soon as I
receive it.
Thank you
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