A Visitor's Guide to London's Landmarks & Attractions 2015 by Craig Cross

Author:Craig Cross
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Europe, Reference, Travel, Budget, Essays & Travelogues, Great Britain, London, Guides
ISBN: 9780992970307
Publisher: Craig Cross
Published: 2014-04-20T23:00:00+00:00

* * *

Royal Courts of Justice – Watching a trial

Address Royal Courts of Justice, The Strand – see map #15 Train station Chancery Lane, Holborn, Temple (all zone 1) Bus routes 1, 4, 11, 15, 23, 26, 59, 68, 76, 91, 168, 171, 172, 188, 243 341, 521, X68 Price Free Opening hours Courts usually sit between 10.30 AM and 4.30 PM (Mon-Fri), but close between 1 PM and 2 PM for lunch Website www.justice.gov.uk/courts/rcj-rolls-building/rcj/faqs Time required 1½-2 hours

Easy to get to? ★★★ Good for kids? ☆☆☆ Value for money? free Worth a visit? ★★☆

I’m back in court again… off to see the judge this time. I’ve got my toothbrush and my pyjamas all packed in case he wants to put me away. I should be alright though—I’m only here to watch a trial. I came on a tour the other day so I thought I’d come back and see something for real.

I’m sitting in the same little cafe as last time, but there are actually some people in here this time. It’s a work day so there are lots of lawyers and briefs and guilty people too. One guy has still got his white wig on like they wear inside the courtroom. He’s just queuing up like everybody else, waiting to buy his cup of tea. I wonder why they make them wear those silly wigs and gowns? The solicitors are much better dressed with sharp suits and Blackberrys, haircuts all slicked back like Don Johnson in Miami Vice. Educated voices too—I can hear them gossiping behind me and it’s all oh yah, ha ha, Jamie’s off to Manchester. His judgment has gone against him apparently, whatever that means, and he needs to recharge his juices. He doesn’t sound too disappointed though. But I don’t suppose he cares because he’s only the brief. It’s the criminal who has to go to prison isn’t it—he’s downstairs in the cells while we’re up here drinking medium lattes from the coffee shop.

I’m going to have a walk around the courts in a minute and pick a place to sit. It’s pretty easy to get this far: all you’ve got to do is stroll through security (past the security scanners and a pat down from the guard) and straight past reception. On the other side of the desk is a wooden display case showing every case that’s playing today. It’s a bit like reading through the TV Times—this case is rubbish, this one’s alright, I might stay in for that one. To be honest it was all gibberish to me. It’s all written in legalese and makes about as much sense as a page full of scribble. When I was on the tour the other day I found out that all the cases are listed in order of seniority, so if you want the best judge then pick whatever’s listed on the left.

Note: You should bear in mind that the Royal Courts of Justice is a Civil Court, and they very rarely have juries (they only appear on appeals).

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.