Taking teenager to observe court to see what barristers do

[CosyMintFish]

looking for some advice. I have a child studying for GCSEs who is considering a career in law, primarily because she enjoys debating and is academic, on track for all 9s.

Being a barrister appeals to her, but we have absolutely no lawyers in the family to ask about this. I’m thinking of taking her to the public gallery in a court, but want some advice on what sort of court (crown court, magistrates) and how to find a hearing where she will see barristers in action but not if it’s a horrible crime like rape or murder. But if there are other ways to show her what being a barrister might look like I’m happy to take advice.

There have been a number of employment tribunals recently where you could get live access to them, though those have gone on for weeks/days so maybe not what you need.

you can go into the public gallery. I would recommend crown court.

There's a series on Ch4 about barristers that was very interesting. Watched it with my 13yo.

www.channel4.com/programmes/barristers-fighting-for-justice?cntsrc=social_share_android_barristers_fighting_for_justice

Magistrate courts are unlikely to have many baristers.

Go into your local court centre and speak to an usher - usually wearing black gowns. Explain what you are after and they will usually advise where the more interesting proceedings are taking place. Don’t go before 10am, it’s usually a bit chaotic first thing. Mags Ct is predominantly solicitor advocates but the skills are just the same, just no wigs! Mags is typically busier day to day with overnight arrestees and things like traffic cases but less likely to have trials that last more than a day.

It’s such a good way to get a feel for law in action - I was personally inspired by a trial where a farmer was being prosecuted by the RSPCA for mis-treating his chickens!!

Thank you. This shows the extent to which I don’t have a clue about this! We will look at the TV series and I will find a Crown Court.

If you can make it to London you can also go to the Old Bailey. It may be interesting to visit the Houses of Parliament too but I have to say these days it looks as if there is rarely anyone in the chambers.

This is an excellent idea btw. Good luck.

Hello 👋🏻 your child sounds brilliant, well done for getting started so young. What kind of law are they interested in? Only criminal? There are some filmed sentencing remarks (after a crown court trial and the defendant is found guilty, the judge will pronounce the sentence) online these days. I think it might be on the UK Judiciary you tube page. Also the court of appeal (criminal) division will have a you tube page for hand downs of high profile appeal decisions. If interested more widely (including civil cases) I would also look at the UK Supreme Court website - they have the whole hearings plus the hand downs of the judgment and also a press summary which explains the case in simple terms. Also a really good tv programme for criminal law is 24 hours in police custody. Good luck!

Sutton Trust do Pathway to Professions and can help find work experience placements in Court, but most Courts are open for people to go and watch what’s going on. Barristers tend to mainly work in Crown Court but be careful what the case is, some details might be distressing for a young person

Read Tribunal Tweets - their live feed coverage of a range of cases shows the process.

The Supreme Court has their hearings online so you can watch the structure of the event

Some court cases might not be suitable for a 13 year old, but the traffic prosecutions such as the Cycling Mikey ones might be. Lavender Hill, for example. I don't think barristers will be involved, but it still might give her a good idea of how the legal system works.

My daughter similarly was interested in a career in law. We went to London and spent a day at the Old Bailey. It was utterly fascinating, there are many courts and cases and you can go round any that interest you. It's free to go in but you are not allowed to take any bags. You simply line up at an entrance and they let you in at opening time. All the details on internet.
We watched a few cases including a horrific murder and a terrorism case. It all made me think I'd missed my calling and certainly cemented my daughter's view that she'd suit a career as a barrister.
I'd love to go back and do it again!

As others have said, I would go to your local crown court and sit in the gallery.

Does her school do bar mock trial competition? That’s a great way to get a taster for the process. And also great for her CV!

www.youngcitizens.org/programmes/the-bar-mock-trial-competition/

The fact that justice is (generally) carried out in the open in this country where anyone can witness it (justice must be seen to be done) is one part that marks the UK out as trying to do the right thing when it comes to a liberal democracy.

The courts will be fairly quiet at the moment so a better time to visit would be in the next half term holiday.

The Royal Courts of Justice in The Strand in London has around 100 courts sitting in the divisions of the High Court (these will be non-criminal cases) and the Civil and Criminal Courts of Appeal. Not all will be open to the public but an usher will be able to guide you to the public galleries. It’s an interesting building too and just across the road from the Middle Temple, one of the Inns of Court, where a lot of barristers have chambers with very historic and lovely gardens that you can visit. The nearest tube station is Temple.

The Old Bailey (Central Criminal Court) is all criminal cases and has 18 courts, some very modern and some wonderfully historic. When I took DD to see it a few years ago bags and phones weren’t allowed in the public gallery so I would bear that in mind. Apparently a newsagent around the corner would look after them for a small fee. There can be grisly hearings but the vast majority of cases are unexceptional. Again, court staff would be helpful guides if you explained what you would like to see. The Old Bailey is a moderate walk from the Royal Courts of Justice or the nearest tubes are Blackfriars or St Pauls.

This series was so badly done and bizarre.

If you speak to the court staff they can often tell you what courts will have suitable cases in them

Ushers are good at steering you away from “unsuitable” trials (sex assualt ones etc.). I went with school in sixth form then with friends a few times (it was a quiet time).

Oh - why?

Just to point out that the minimum age to attend court is 14 and DC need to have a proof of age eg passport with them as they may well get asked.

Ha!

As a pupil barrister decades ago I was always being bundled into a taxi to get to a magistrate’s court on the other side of town for a bail hearing.

Pupils were cheaper than solicitors, so 🤷‍♀️

@CosyMintFish it’s a grand idea - and I’d certainly encourage you to visit courts where you’ll see more than criminal cases. Otherwise your daughter may end up with a somewhat unbalanced idea of what the legal profession involves.

Look on the Courtserve website (you have to register but not pay)

Click on Crown Court and then on the town nearest you. From about 4 pm They will list the courts sitting the next day. They don’t outline the charges but if you google the names of the defendants you can often get an idea of the crime if it was in the news. Click the ‘news’ button on your Google search.

Reporting restrictions will be noted and will say if it is due to victim anonymity in a sexual assault case, also if the name of the defends not listed and there are reporting restrictions it is probably a gang trial of U18s.

Check the security restrictions before you leave home. For example at the Old Bailey no electronics are allowed, including phones, air pods and smart watches. And no chewing gum, water bottles, sweets . It’s a long list! They also restrict size of bag.

It is interesting but not dramatic like on telly. The most interesting bit is when the barristers cross examine witnesses from the other side. But there can be L-o-o-o-ong periods where an expert witness or one side go into details about phone logs and which phone masts picked up phone use over 4 days…. or similar.

Go to your local crown court (if your child is over 14). Ideally you want one that has at lesser 3 or 4 courtrooms so if your local one is very small go to the next biggest. As pp says, chat up the ushers. It isn’t just a case of avoiding the serious sex cases, you also want to know what is going on there. Tell them you would like to see barristers in action, so you want to see maybe some cross examination, or an opening (the start of a case), but you don’t want to sit through a judges summing up if you haven’t followed the trial. Lots of trials will be starting on Mondays. Fridays is a good day to hear sentences, you will see the defence counsel mitigating then hear the judges sentencing remarks and the sentence. I wouldn’t nec avoid a murder or manslaughter, but just check with the usher how gory it is. Lots are not, very. But they usually go on for some weeks so whether you can follow it depends on where they are in the case.
I would not choose a mags court first time, personally, there is not just so much if interest going on.

I only know because I went to Crown Court when I did A level law. All I can remember about it is when the judge starts summing up you can’t leave. It’s probably best to google court ettiquette before you go.

For interesting but non-distressing cases, look for hearings about challenges to someone's Will. I have a friend who is a barrister specialising in these. It's shocking the number of families who are willing to tear themselves apart and impoverish themselves and their relatives (to the profit of barristers) to make sure that cousin Susan doesn't benefit from Great Aunty Annie's estate.