HLE Blogger & NLJ consultant editor David Greene recounts the experiences of a civil litigator in the criminal court
"As some of us do from time to time in the course of our civil litigation practices, we venture into the criminal world on behalf of existing clients who face criminal sanction for some alleged transgression. Often, this type of work for the civil litigator is pushed over to a firm undertaking criminal law as a full time practice. Sometimes, however, clients additionally demand the personal attention of their solicitor to ensure that there is some oversight as to what is happening.
For the civil litigator, the criminal world works in a strangely relaxed and sometimes bizarre fashion. From recent experience, it is not uncommon for witnesses, the accused, or even the relevant judge, not to turn up and for the matter to be routinely adjourned. On occasion, the reason for adjournment is a lack of communication between the court and the prison service—no notice of production and the prisoner is not produced.
There are, of course, more significant issues at stake in the criminal court than in the civil court. At the end of the day, one can be looking at very serious crimes and of course a most important human right—the freedom of the individual—but the way in which the criminal courts work seems, to this civil litigator, vastly wasteful. The relaxed way in which fixed dates are approached would not be tolerated in the civil courts. As a civil practitioner, we become frustrated with the way in which the county courts work from time to time, but it is rare that they will allow repeated adjournments of cases, as appears to happen quite regularly in the criminal courts.
There are other marked differences. First, a dip into the criminal system and consequent discussions with barristers and clerks reminds you of the low levels of remuneration for the junior Bar at both magistrates and crown court level…”
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