Vol 6 Issue 1.pub - Highcliffe School

All the Court officials, including
the Judge, Barristers
and Clerks wore wigs
and gowns, although we
noticed one Barrister who
was obviously finding it a
bit of a tight squeeze to
get into his gown had it
elegantly draped across his
back and elbows!.
To begin with we met with
Mrs Chapman,the Courts’
Administrator, and we had
a tour of the whole building,
including a twenty
minute chat in one of the
closed court-rooms. This
involved seeing the dock –
where the defendant
stands during the trial, the
witness box, where the
witnesses are called to
make statements, and the
Judge’s Bench where the
Judge sits to hear the
case. In front of the
Judge’s Bench is a long table
where the Clerks of the
Court sit, with the Recorder,
who tapes the entire
trial in case of any
misinterpretation. In front
of the Judge is the Counsel’s
Bench, where the
Barristers and Solicitors
sit, who represent either
the Defence or the Prosecution.
Behind them sit
their Juniors, with their
bundles of papers and evidential
documents, making
sure that all the necessary
information is ready
to hand for the case. Finally,
alongside the side of
the court is the Jury’s
Bench. Here the 12 Jurors
listen to the case and
come up with the decision
as to the guilt or innocence
of the defendant when all
the evidence has been
heard.
The building is very modern,
with many courts, but
the only down-side was that
the defendants and plaintiffs,
and their various witnesses,
have to share the
waiting and café facilities,
which could be a bit unnerving
for a witness in a case
involving violence.
(Barristers and Judges have
different catering facilities!)
There is one court which has
a perspex ‘box’ from floor to
ceiling for violent or dangerous
offenders, who can be
seen by the Judge and Jury
but not by members of the
public. Cases can also be
heard via video links, or
with screens, to prevent the
witness or vicitm becoming
distressed by the sight of
the defendant.
It was very interesting seeing
the functioning of the
Courts. We saw three
cases, one involving
‘ABH’ (actual bodily harm)
where we saw the start of
the trial, where the Barristers
for the Crown and the
Defence were arguing about
BA Crest Awards
You may remember the report
we brought you last
term about the Sixth Form
Physics students who had
been working with the
Royal Navy as
part of the Engineering
in Education
scheme,
Further to that
article we have
now received
news that the
team: Anthony
Wynn-Hebden, Matthew
Allsopp, Omar Al-Sheikhly
Science
the admissability of evidence
before the Jury was
sworn in. We also saw a
theft and handling of stolen
goods case where the
defendant was sentenced
to three months in prison,
but this was very distressing
for the defendant’s
family, who were seated in
front of us in the public
gallery.
The third case we saw was
another minor theft case,
but the defendant did not
turn up, so a warrant was
issued for her arrest. We
estimated the combined
cost of Judge, Jury, Barristers,
Solicitors, Court time
etc for this shoplifting offence
was approximately
£5,000.00 in wasted time.
All in all we had a brilliant
visit to Bournemouth
Crown and County Courts,
seeing the work of law in
action!
Report by Stephanie Doe
and Teddy Peacop have
been awarded Gold BA
CREST Awards, the first
students from Highcliffe to
receive this.
BA (British Association
for the
advancement of
Science) CREST,
celebrating
CREativity in
Science and
Technology, is a
project based
scheme, sponsored by Astra
Zenica and the Re-
H2U, Vol 6 Issue 1 - September 2006 Page 10