What to expect at Trial

[LS]

You will be searched and have your bags x-rayed as you enter the courthouse. Anyone entering has their bags searched/xrayed as well. You should meet with your barrister (maybe with your solicitor) who will go over the procedure. A security guard will take you to the dock (you may or may not be handcuffed for this). Your family and friends can enter/leave the courtroom at any time, provided they are not giving evidence on your behalf. In this case they will not be allowed to enter the court until they give evidence.

The jury will be sworn in and both barristers will be given the opportunity to object to any of the jury. There will probably be some legal arguments, which the jury are not allowed to hear, but you and the public gallery will hear them.

The prosecution barrister will outline the case and call witnesses. Your barrister will have the opportunity to cross-examine the witnesses. If you think of anything you want your barrister to ask, you can pass a note to your sol who will then speak to the barrister. If your accuser is giving evidence, she will probably do so from behind a screen or via videolink. Sometimes the accuser can request for the public gallery to be cleared before she enters the courtroom. She will probably cry and be offered tissues.

It is then the turn of the defence. You will be called as a witness and your barrister will ask you pre-arranged questions. S/he should have gone through these with you prior to the case. The prosecution barrister will question you. Be prepared! Stay calm, address your comments to the jury, don't get fired up. If you think you might cry, don't fight it! Your credibility is everything and jurors sometimes feel sympathy for people who cry. These kind of cases are largely a popularity contest.

Any other defence witnesses will be called, questioned and the cross-examined. Both barristers will "sum-up" the case.

The judge will then sum up and the jury will retire to consider their verdict. You must wait outside the courtroom, or within easy reach, throughout this time. This could be over several days.

During this whole process there will be breaks, lunch breaks and overnight periods. Each time your barrister will have to gain the judges permission for you to leave the courthouse, and if overnight, for you not to be remanded. This is normal so don't panic. However I recommend you take a Nasty Bag just in case. Never underestimate the power of clean pants, socks and your own toothbrush!

While the jury are considering, they may call you back to the courtroom to ask questions. This is normal, and can even be encouraging - it means they are thinking about the evidence. When they have reached a decision you will be called back, and the judge will ask the foreman of the jury what their verdict is.

If the verdict is Not Guilty you will be allowed to leave more or less immediately. It is a good idea to look at the jury and say Thankyou.

If the verdict is Guilty, the jury will be dismissed and more legal argument will ensue. If the judge chooses to delay sentencing pending pre-sentence reports (very common) then the prosecution will probably argue that you should be remanded. Your counsel will argue against remand. It is impossible to say what the likelihood of remand is, sorry!

Often, if you are found Guilty, sentencing is deferred pending Probation Reports. This means that you have perhaps a month of being free, in order for Probation to get some background on you, and you will be expected to have a meeting or two with them at your local Probation Office. Once those reports are in, then your next court hearing WILL be the one where you are likely to be imprisoned.


VERY IMPORTANT DURING TRIAL

Very important. If you don't want your photo taken by the press while the trial is going on, then during breaks from the court hearing, STAY AWAY from the entrance doors.

When I was at trial there was a car park in sight of the court entrance, and at the back of the car park a photographer had a tripod sat in front of his car, remotely operated.
This meant anyone looking for someone with a cameraman/photographer would think the area was clear, when in fact you had to look really hard to spot a tripod in a busy car park.

Best thing is avoid the front entrance at all costs, or if you have to loiter there for a smoke, keep your face turned towards the court.


Also,
Should you be found guilty, but released and to be sentenced at a later date, be very wary of callers to your home. The local press will often call round and ring the doorbell in the hope you'll answer, while a colleague at the end of the driveway will be sat with a camera on you.
In that scenario, you'd be best getting someone else to answer the doorbell, or not at all.

[Abaddream]

What to expect at Trial

I've done it.

With the help of everyone supporting me and especially my girlfriend it's all over. 20 months of hell. People ask me this weekend how did you get through it and people will come on here looking for that answer. There is no answer. You just will. Trust me. You are strong no matter what you think and at the end (there will be an end no matter what) you won't know how you made it through but the important thing is you will make it. You're not dead. If you're on bail you're probably not looking at life in prison. I know the repercussions and it is life changing to everyone involved. But you don't live in a third world country and you Won't be hung or executed in public with no trial. Despite how much you feel you are up against it, you just need to fight.

It was no doubt the hardest week of my life. I couldnt read the jury. The prosecution seemed to have days and complete freedom to give their side. It came to my defence and i seemed to get barely a day, I would use words like 'assume' that I was sure I had heard other wirnesses use time after time and be told off by the judge. I said my goodbyes and walked into the dock with my toiletries looking at a minimum of 4 years, my girlfriend is 21 for God's sake. She held on to me in burst of teats and refused to let me enter the court room, these people think they are protecting this other girl but do they realise the damage they have done to the females in my life? The prosecution had spun and manipulated it so bad that I was by the end of a gruelling 5 day trial 100% I was going to jail for something I hadn't done. although the security in the dock gave me sympathy and remarked quietly "same old story" after prosecution witnesses. But no one else in the court room seemed to do so. Even the judge seemed greatly against me and talked down to me. Despite that my barrister kept telling me how fair he was being, I'd hate to hear him being unfair.

My point is be prepared for a hard week, it might not seem a fair trial that this nation prides itself on, you might feel guilty before proven innocent and it might feel like the burden is on you not the prosecution. And it is. So be calm, collected but firm. Don't get angry or aggressive but remember you're fighting for your freedom here, this is the time to stand up and make it count. All them sleepless nights thinking, all the depression and anxiety. Use it. Channel it and stand up there and show the jury you are innocent. When I stood up to give evidence I looked around and I crumbled, I didn't think I could do it, my barrister asked about my partner I looked at her and she was in tears as she was most of the week. I teared up then I pulled myself together and I did what I needed to do. I gave my account and the day ended, the prosecution barrister had all night to diet everything I said, make every honest innocent thing I had done look like something it wasn't and try and trip me up. He came prepared the next morning with about 20 sheets to try and pick me apart and teat me down. He called me a lier. He didn't beat around the bush. They were his words. "You are lying aren't you" I looked at the jury and answered everyone of his questions. He didn't deserve answers. They needed them. I needed to show them I would never do such a thing. It must have been 2 hours of attacking me but I wouldn't let him bully me.

The jury of 10 women and 2 men, which I was dubious about but has now reinstalled my faith in females even more so, delivered a unanimous decision after just over an hour of deliberating. My jury were mature. 9 of them females at least 50 years old. 1 a younger girl. 1 a mature man and one a young man. My case involved a night out and interaction with a girl. I was worried their generation would be out of touch and not aware of how a girl might behave and think there was no way a girl would do such a thing and therefore find me guilty. The judge asked them to draw on their combined experience of life in all different walks. They all looked the same though. Very prim and proper. I really thought they would get the wrong picture. But I was wrong and I have learnt not to judge people in such a way.

NOT GUILTY ON BOTH COUNTS

The courtroom filled with my supporters burst into tears. Its effected them as much as me and many of them have needed counselling and medication. I never needed any of that. I was never scared about myself, and never for 1 second worried about the normal fears people would have of being in jail for their own safety. The only thing i was scared about is that I wouldnt be there to protect my mum and my girlfriend and tell them everything is Ok. I managed to mumble a thank you to the jury between my tears. Even my barrister came out and she hugged me and had to walk straight off to stop crying. And I'm sure being 15 years into her career she is a pretty hard lady.

It's done now and as a 23 year old with a 21 year old girlfriend of 4 years apart from the 1 month when the CONSENSUAL incident happened can finally plan a life together. We have been through more than some people will do in their whole life and we are ready to take on the world and have a bright future.

I still feel stressed, I spent all week in fight or die mode and now it's over it's settling in how hard that week actually was. Intense, degrading, embarrassing and upsetting. But I stood up there and under hours of cross examining stood my ground, kept my cool and tried to engage with the jury. I had one chance to profess my innocence to the 12 people that would dictate my future, the case was going to come down to whether they thought I was telling the truth or not and it was my time to show that and stand up to the bullying prosecuting barrister. I wasn't going to lose my cool but if he thought I would stand there and roll over to his manipulations of evidence he had another thing coming.

Now I hope through rossendales (sp) and legal aid I can claim my legal aid contribution back and go back to work after being on leave since I was charged. They have stuck by me all the way. I appreciate the things in life that matter now and if I can take anything away from this terrible situation is that it's made me and my partner strong as we could possibly be. It actually brought us back together as at the time we had split up, I realised my error and how much I needed her at the time, she even picked me up from the police station when it happened. How many 21 year old girls would do that and voluntarily put themselves through 2 years of hell following and then stand up in court as a character witness to the jury what I'm really like despite what the prosecution tried to portray me as. I've never been one to think like that but I really believe we were meant to be and if this is what it took to get us back together then so be it.

I plan on keeping up with this page to see if there's anything I can help with and if anyone wants to ask me any questions or pm me please do. Even if you just have no family or friends to help you through this like I so luckily did please message me for a chat.

[Casehardened]

Additional advice for trial

[this was originally posted on the PAFAA forum and is copied here by kind permission of the writer]

Some practical stuff, the court we were in had no canteen and too short a break to go out for lunch. We felt sick most of the time so didn't want proper lunch but took a few oat bars and bits for a sugar hit at lunch time. Take change in case there is a vending machine. You can take notes to help you make sense if you need to but most of the time you will be listening carefully. When you take the stand you are allowed to sit but we both stood as we felt it gave it all more gravitas and you can hold on to witness box if you feel shakey. Having your sisters and partner there will be really helpful. We looked our accusers in the eye, but they could not do the same, it's a tough thing to do if you are lying. When you are in the box do address the jury and judge.

The prosecution will try to rattle you but just hold your ground and be firm but not aggressive. If you don't know the answer don't try and second guess just say so. Especially if they ask why they would accuse you. You can't second guess this and it would be OK to say I have no idea why they would want to lie and destroy my life. (You can check this sort of thing out with Chris [Saltrese])