Glasgow High Court is housed in a very smart new building. Nice shiny marble and bright entrance. I was there with a group who had come along to listen to a talk by the Witness Service and to be given a short tour.
The Court Witness Service is a specialised part of the Victim Support organisation. These volunteers look after people who are witnesses in serious court cases, including bereaved relatives in murder cases, child witnesses and women who have been raped.
http://www.victimsupportsco.org.uk/page/witnesses.cfm
This was a fascinating insight into the working of the legal process but ultimately a depressing reinforcement of the problems in obtaining justice for large sections of the population.
We were shown witness rooms, which are relatively comfortable small rooms where a witness waits until being called to give evidence. There are careful procedures in place to ensure that the witness is not confronted by the accused in corridors or when leaving the building.
Next, we were shown a standard courtroom. It was nowhere near as large as I’d imagined. Then we were shown into the courtroom, which was described as secure and used for high profile or for particularly dangerous criminals. Lots of reinforced bombproof glass and a corridor that could be sealed off from the rest of the building. But again, quite cramped, especially if there was more than one accused, each of whom would need his own set of defence lawyers. A member of the Procurator Fiscal’s Office known as an Advocate Depute represents the Crown. For some cases, it is probably that the Advocate Depute has only just gotten their hands on the case, maybe even the night before the trial. This does not inspire confidence in justice for the victim of serious crime.
We were also taken to look at the CCTV room, which is where witnesses under16 years give their testimony. A volunteer from the witness service sits in the room with the child, but cannot even offer any words of comfort if the child gets upset. How bloody inhumane is that? Yes, I can appreciate that the perpetrator is innocent till proven guilty and any suspicion of "coaching" of the child by an adult will be exploited by rapacious defence council, but arrghhhh what a dreadful system. It would be so much simpler if all those who commit crimes against kids just stopped their vile behaviour.
Since I am not any kind of expert, here is some background info:
http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/justiciary/index.asp
However, one of the worst shocks to many women who are victims is that they do not have their own lawyer. They are merely a witness to the crime which is prosecuted by the Crown. Most people have spent years watching American legal programmes where a mini-skirted fast-talking and very smart lawyer wins cases for vulnerable people. Well, it’s just not like that in real life.
But this gives me an excuse to publicly mourn the demise of Boston Legal.
Boo Hoo and bye bye James!http://www.tv.com/boston-legal/show/25525/summary.html
No comments:
Post a Comment