Criminal trials from start to finish

Lawyers are very good at assuming that everyone knows what happens at trial. Of course, many lawyers spend every day in the criminal courts so the whole process becomes second nature and they hardly stop to think that for many people a courtroom is a strange and unfamiliar place. 

What you have seen on TV/Netflix/Amazon etc. sometimes bears little resemblance to reality and is often based on trials in the USA which can be a little different to those here.  

In the criminal courts in England & Wales you never hear a gavel pounding on the bench, you never hear lawyers shouting “objection” or judges responding with “sustained” or “overruled”. You do not hear lawyers asking to “approach the bench” nor do you see them walking up to witnesses in the middle of cross-examination and shouting in their faces, and you don’t hear witnesses take the oath and finish with the words, “so help me God.” 

So what follows unravels the myths about trial in the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts. The suite of trial guides and resources will also prepare you for what to expect if you are going to court yourself, whether as a defendant, a witness or an observer. Follow the trial process from start to finish.

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