Category: journey into law

Bar Course Books arrive

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Unfortunately I was feeling unwell last week and on Sunday went to an accident and emergency department on advice of the phone service. After many hours of waiting I was seen and admitted, put on some IV antibiotics and fluids. By 12am I was fed up and wanted to go home. By 3am I told them I had had enough of waiting and wanted to take oral antibiotics at home. Anyway, sent home on oral so thankfully recovering in my own space.

It really put a dent in my course start as I was thinking to myself, ‘If I’m not well enough I might miss my start dates.’ I’ll push through, I have my last 2 doses today and tomorrow so am healed almost.

And I am excited to start the course. After receiving a most dire response to my query regarding Blackstones Criminal law. I had asked why the book was not available to order along with the others, along with the likes of the daunting White Book or evidence and drafting… I was told that it isn’t available until October. Oh no! That is when a new version is released and I guess we have access via our university library anyway so one doesn’t miss out .

Today, early and by special UPS delivery, handled with modest care were the books that will consume me over the next 9 months alongside the course materials.

  • Course materials – civil skills, civil litigation, criminal skills, criminal litigation
  • The Jackson ADR Handbook
  • Evidence
  • Drafting
  • Remedies
  • Professional Ethics
  • Civil Procedure Volume 1 & Civil Procedure Volume 2 (The White Book)
  • Blackstones Criminal Law (Not Available in physical copy until October.)

It was all a little daunting before I even enrolled on the course. The doubt and unease kept creeping in after I passed the bar course aptitude test. Even then, I had a false sense of confidence. In reality I need to do way, way more mooting – something that I will no doubt post about in the future – in order to improve my speaking and legal knowledge. When I accepted my full place by way of completing the conditions, and by paying the deposits required.

Of course, this is me, I am strong and I am not scared like a little cat in the alleyway. No. The people scaring students into believing they are embarking on a soul quest are wrong. It’s a course and yes no doubt difficult, but that doesn’t mean we should be drilling students with a negative image. Let’s keep it positive and real yeah?

The reality according to the Bar Standards Board – the authority regulating barristers – is that the statistics page for pupillage shows that in 2019/20 404 pupils commenced pupillage in their first six.

(https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/news-publications/research-and-statistics/statistics-about-the-bar/pupillage.html)

Since the 1990’s, the number of pupils actually succeeding in securing pupillage has fallen. This is in part because in 2003 it became a requirement to fund or pay for a students pupillage. It also could be because there are considerably less pupillages over the last 20 years, particularly over the period of 2020/21.

“3,301 bar hopefuls compete for 246 pupillages” in 2021 according to the Legal Cheek article, Pupil Barrister numbers down nearly a third in 30 years.

It’s worth noting this is a low number of pupillages. Many chambers or sets have openly admitted culling pupillage during the crisis due to the economic uncertainty.

That’s the truth and the reality. A little unfair? Possibly.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post and look forward to many more to come.

The Coroners Court – the inquisition

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Let me take you on a journey. It’s a warm and sunny day in middle England. Surely as the crows fly and the cars rumble along will there be an inquest at hand. Welcome, to the coroners court!

Surely as the crows fly and the cars rumble along will there be an inquest at hand.

me

The best experience a law student can gain in their summer period or time off is to either undertake some form of work experience within a firm or chambers or to visit the courts themselves. Many people are probably under the assumption that crown and magistrates courts are the only courts in the land. This is not the case; there are many courts, including the coroners court, the high court, the royal courts of justice, the supreme court! England didn’t begin to create the common law system for one bloody courthouse. Many centuries ago now, the courts would travel around England and impose the law as they arrived, not very effective at blanket law enforcement.

So, the coroners court, pour yourself some whiskey for the hours long inquisition into the death of an individual. Very much an individual. There is a presiding man or woman – I have no idea what there title or qualifications are. All rise, so I assume a judge of some variety, Apparently I was in luck as the woman overseeing todays case was the ‘top’ dog, or in other words, the boss of everyone else who works there apparently. Friendly staff and a much more welcoming atmosphere than the crown court. For one, there is no body scanner or “empty your pockets!” You are free to enter and the guy at the desk was apparently serving an apprenticeship – a great choice of area – and he was kind enough to give me the details of the court and the upcoming inquisition.

An inquest is the best to see and witness, and I enjoyed observing. The court was big and fresh, lots of breathable space. The session also lasted from 2:30pmto 5pm… two and a half hours! There was a brief 15 minute break around 4:15pm. Inside, in front of the judge is the clerk, and usually the room would be full but due to the current situation the doctor was communicating with the court with microsoft teams. It’s different to criminal proceedings, the family have access to a microphone and the overseer is much friendlier and more empathetic. I am interested in the work of coroners and the court process, but sadly I don’t know what law applies to these inquests, so that is something I’d like to learn more about.

The case today concerned the death of a family member who the family argued was released from hospital incorrectly as they were considerably ill, they later died at home after being discharged. The findings of the court was that the junior doctor had failed in their duty, and so did the accident and emergency department. I don’t really know what the family get out of it, as there was no mention of monetary compensation at the conclusion. There was mention of contacting the department for health and educating the juniors to avoid future recurrences. I’ll be honest, the hospital in question has a long list of questionable deaths that have previously been to the coroners court, and I myself have witnessed the dire performance and negligence within its walls. It’s the reason I refuse to be treated or seen there anymore.

I’ll be honest, the hospital in question has a long history of questionable deaths that have previously been to the coroners court, and I myself have witnessed the dire performance and negligence within its walls. It’s the reason I refuse to be treated or seen there anymore.

me

A somewhat emotional hearing, an inquest with family that have recently lost a mum, wife, grandmother etc, and who are grieving. Empathy and understanding go a long way and this is the reason the law needs to maintain high ethical and moral standard. Without it, we’d have a court system run by evil prejudice hylics! Maybe the conclusion was one that the family wanted. Throughout, even I could assess that it was the hospital and doctors failings that led to the death, and the court rightly found the same. I would have been pretty angry if it hadn’t. To deny the evidence and to avoid blaming those who are culpable is not the milkshake society I want to live in. Have courage to do justice.

It would be nice to return for a pre-inquest hearing – not sure if that’s the name – when all the press turn up to get the gossip. Why do I want to be there at the same time as the press? Because during my court visits I have been mistaken for the press, firstly by a barrister, secondly by the court usher and thirdly the ‘inmate security officers.’

I will add this, that I managed to see a brief amount of a case in the magistrates before heading to the coroners. The defendant was unrepresented. Honestly, I think considering they wanted counsel for a plea in mitigation, give me the papers and I’ll do it. But, I’m not qualified yet and I don’t fancy lying to assist the unassisted. Luckily, the magistrates postponed the sentence so he could discuss the issue with the duty solicitor. There is also 1 court open in the entire magistrates court building, an absolute joke. If you’ve followed the news, you’ll see that the backlog of cases in England is substantial and they have ‘nightingale courts’ open. Government take my advice, society has gone back to normal, nobody is concerned about the pandemic anymore. Open the courts and let all of its facilities be used… one courtroom a day means the running costs of the entire building.

Have a lovely evening all and may peace be with you!

Magistrates Court Visit: The Mage’s Lair

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

I was off out to the Greater Manchester area, to the town of Stockport. The picture above is from Bing images, but it is of Stockport magistrates court. The room made me feel as if I were in a Star Wars spaceship. The white tiles walls, with barely anything else, was alien! I was also the only one in the public gallery, again. Someone has to keep an eye on the system.

Dubbed the wild west of the criminal justice system, the magistrates court is the first point of call for the majority of criminal cases. The more serious offences, called indictable offences like robbery, serious assault, rape or murder can only be heard by a crown court.

Dubbed the wild west of the criminal justice system, the magistrates court is the first point of call for the majority of criminal cases.

Let’s dig into the differences and similarities between the Magistrates and Crown court.

First, and most notable, is that the bench consists of 3 magistrates. In front is a clerk or legal advisor, they are the ones who are most likely to have legal education and training, as the magistrates are essentially ‘uneducated in law.’ Next we have both the defence and prosecution lawyers, they are on their own table in front of both the clerk and magistrates, facing the bench. Today, the defendant was to the right inside a glass shielded box, the place they have to stand during the hearing.

The jury box was also empty today, as the hearings I entered were pleading hearings – not sure if that’s the right name! Oh well! Behind the lawyers or prosecution and defence counsel sits the public, that is where I was sat, and a gold rail was between me and the rest of the court room.

Crown courts generally have the same sort of feel and layout, although, the bench will consist of an actual legal judge. Sometimes a magistrates will host a district judge, and today, surprisingly, the court had a crown court operating within its walls. Barristers represent and prosecute in the crown court, where they wear their court regalia of black cloak and white wigs.

The dress code in the crown court is to be admired, because when you look at the suits being worn in the magistrates court, they do not look as serious or impressive. The usher was the only one wearing a black cloak. I call it the Voldemort cloak as it reminds me of the sort of clothes he wore in Philosopher stone. I was advised to come back in the mornings and on trial day, so I am going to head back tomorrow morning to try and see some. I don’t think I’ll post about that though.

An American flag displayed, although the layout is almost the same in the UK.
Westminster Magistrates Court

I saw 2 hearings, both relating to drink and drug driving. The first pleaded not guilty to drug driving and the second pleaded guilty to drink driving. I know from past experience that driving offences take up the majority of magistrates court cases. The defendant pleading not guilty will go onto a trial, where a jury will be present.

The defendant pleading guilty was to be sentenced straight away, although, in this hearing, defence cousel requested further assessments of the defendant’s mental health and similar, and therefore it was postponed or adjourned.

Check out the useful video below on the magistrates court :

Thanks for reading. Have you ever been in one of these court rooms?

University Tour & Crown Court Visit

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Hi. I’ve had a fairly active day compared to the usual slob and yawn.

I visited the University of Law campus for a tour. After being allowed to enter the modern building, I was literally on my way up in the elevator to the 4th floor.

The campus is very modern, clean and the available staff were friendly, as expected as prospective students are forking out around £15,000 for the bar course with masters. So, for that price I expect an escort on arrival and an oriental breakfast. Not this time I’m afraid (take note university).

The university comprises small classrooms and lecture theatres, boasting pro bono facilities, mock trials and all the advocacy training a potential barrister may need. The university also teaches business courses along with the LLB and GDL.

Overall the tour was decent. It lasted an hour from 10am to 11am. I would have liked to see some more bar course students and teaching staff, but of course, only a skeleton crew sufficed… if they could blame global warming for the pandemic they would. (I think they have).

Next I was on a journey to a public building in a public place supposedly conducting public hearings. I phoned the crown court yesterday to check that the public can now observe. On arrival, as with everything, I had to use the voice of reason and explain the previous days conversation and government guidance regarding court visits. I was ‘allowed’ on ‘this’ day. I find that extremely laughable, that a public court that has no right to refuse the public access to observe court, can ‘choose’ to let me in. You know, it isn’t the lawyers spouting this nonsense, it’s the other ‘security’ and ‘staff.’

One might think I had walked into an occult meeting, all these masked fellows and blokes and women wearing gowns and wigs and acting suspicious. No, I was under suspicion, in fact, I was the only member of the public there. I am not kidding, I saw no other member of the public. I even had to be escorted around by a covid marshal, although he was rather friendly and helped me find a court I could enter.

I ended up in the most magnificent of court rooms, ancient, elite wooden beams echoing the cries of the past, black and white ceilings, the old smell of dusty furniture and age. I was having a huge anxiety attack.

It happens

Don’t forget the massive lights, more like chandeliers, six of them. I had the patience to watch a few cases or trials. I was not in luck as this courtroom was predominantly dealing with sentencing. I was the only member of the public in the public gallery. I felt as if this was a huge stab in the back of justice. Why are the public seats empty? Five or so rows of red velvet lined benches, easy to keep people separated. But no. The public need to be in court to witness the proceedings to ensure a fair process, without this, these are essentially private hearings, conducted under the head of state and with potential to miscarry justice.

I didn’t witness anything bad or out of line. In fact a lovely barrister came and chatted to me for while before the hearing. I felt more at ease and assured after this. Partly because I was going into the same room (which I had waited for quite some time to do – the reluctance of the staff to let me in court rooms was reaching levels of delusions) and partly because she was giving me information about the case which I found great and of use for when the defendant entered the dock for sentencing.

I heard 2 sentencing hearings, if that is the official name. I enjoyed the experience. It is quite daunting to observe in such a big and strange room, with such old décor and manners, a sort of 17th century experience. The visit didn’t come without some emotions of course. Aside from being nervous, I was genuinely sorry for both the defendants. Seeing people get sent to prison is not a nice thing, and must be even harder to experience. I didn’t expect to feel this way and that is why I am writing about it. Practice trials, mooting and mock trials can only come so close to the real experience.

I was off out of court by 1pm, time to head back to Manchester Piccadilly train station and head home.

I hope this has been of interest to you all. Stay safe.

Controversial Cases in the Media

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Hi there, how are you? Good. How am I? I am doing well, relaxing in my white waffle tracksuit drinking cold tea.

As an aspiring barrister who has little under a month until I begin the bar course, I find myself drawn more and more into the controversial criminal cases that have found there ways into the media. Most media is skewed, but still there is an element of truth to the stories.

Prologue:

There will be a case in the paper concerning a ‘horrific’ and ‘brutal’ criminal offence that has left victims either ‘severely injured’ or ‘dead’. There is no shortage of these types of cases. What sort get put into the paper and why? Cases you read about in the paper are cases like these;

The cases show a cross section of the same types of people within our society. The bottom case is of interest today, and I’ll tell you why. It’s of interest because the article has unequivocally highlighted yet again the failures of both the social support system and the criminal justice system in general. The policing system, the government and the courts should be held accountable for the amount of crime that is committed on a daily basis, of which there is A LOT. Why does the media keep reporting these cases, instead of lobbying for increased funding to the severely underfunded legal system? Why aren’t the government acting concerned?

Main story:

The last case, concerning a teenage mother who left her baby to ‘starve’ to death as she went and partied for a little under 6 days, jailed for 9 years. (Ignore that 69).

Quoting the article; “Asiah died at the flat and tests showed she was starved, dehydrated and had developed flu. Judge Christine Laing said the final days of her life are “unbearable to contemplate” as she sentenced Kudi.”

Below is a picture of the defendant, found guilty of manslaughter. She had previously pleaded guilty. Did you know that a guilty plea automatically knocks a 1/3 off your sentence? Did you know that criminals can get out of jail early for ‘good’ behaviour? Did you know the the convicted are released before serving even half of their sentence dependent on when the judge sets the earliest parole date?

Screengrab taken from mobile phone footage of Verphy Kudi at a concert in Elephant and Castle London. (PA Images)
A screengrab taken from mobile phone footage of Verphy Kudi at a concert in Elephant and Castle, London. (PA)

“She herself, the defendant, is both very young and we would submit very vulnerable.”

To answer the above; I would submit that a baby is vulnerable and unable to care for themselves. The defendant was vulnerable? Yeah okay, she clearly was distressed that is why she went on a week long drinking bender.

Let’s get to the crux or cold bleeding heart of this case and why it distressed me. I read this and expected that the outcome reported would be murder. “Guilty of manslaughter.” Guilty. The distinguishing feature of murder from manslaughter is the mental intention, or the mens rea, of the defendant.

To commit the murder with direct intention is to intend a particular outcome or consequence of the defendants actions or act – the actus reas. In other words, the defendant knows that their actions will result in death, that is their intention. On the other hand, still coming under murder, albeit to a somewhat lesser extent and I am hesitant to call any type of murder lesser, is oblique intention. You see, oblique intention is where a human being foresees a natural consequence of their actions as virtually certain – the virtually certain test set out in the case of R v Woollin – a case in which the defendant threw his baby at a wall causing death.

When discussing manslaughter, we have involuntary and voluntary. Unfortunately, this is a reflection of poor reporting, the article I read failed to mention what manslaughter variety our killer mother had been charged and found guilty of. We can allude, but I refrain from making assumptions based on the fact that it states she was very vulnerable.

Conclusion:

Here we have a case that will cause people to get upset and cry. But what has been done to prevent this? A known vulnerable teenager, who has a baby, and is heavily influenced with a youngsters lifestyle… Again, systemic failures within the social care system which has resulted in another loss of a babies life. When will the system learn and start to actually do what they are paid to do?

Let’s briefly touch on the sentence, a 9 year stretch, assuming that includes the 1/3 off. Now, realistically, the mother will probably be doing half of that. Another failure? The system doesn’t have the finances to fund and keep prisoners, it’s more economic to keep criminals in society paying taxes you know. It’s not the judge or barristers or solicitors that need slapping, it’s the government for failing to recognise or acknowledge that the system they have deluded themselves into believing is working, isn’t.

If the country functioned and had a well funded legal system and kept people happy, would we be seeing children murdering with intention, other children? Where did we cross the line in allowing our children to become such evil little *****?

I leave you with a question. Given the sentence, would you:

a) Find her guilty of murder

b) change the sentence

c) ban under 18s from having children?

Thanks for reading and have a brilliant day.

Passing the BCAT: A rite of passage

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

It is a requirement to pass the bar course aptitude test (BCAT) before you can enroll on the bar course – the path to becoming a barrister.

Hi there, after a slightly unrested night and morning, and one exam down, I have returned home with a smile on thy face. So, today was the ‘big’ day, the BCAT exam. Scheduled for 10:30am, I arrived at 10am and stuck all my personal belongings into a locker except my ID. I spent almost all of the exam time allowed making sure I was happy with my answers… spending some more hesitating over the submit button.

I passed. Achieving 56/60 on the exam which lasts an hour. Had I not prepared for this, then it’s possible it would have gone another way. Preparation is key, and although the majority think that this test can’t be prepped for, that is in fact nonsense.

A few months back, when the reality of having to take this expensive £150 test dawned on me, I set out to practice and practice I did. Working through the how to become ‘Bar course aptitude tests’ book, which contained 5 sections and a mock test. Although the questions weren’t related to the real exam questions in any way, they did help to improve my critical thinking. One area I struggled with at first was inferences, I don’t know what score I got in that section but 56 is nearly all correct overall, so a lot were right!

One of my strengths is being able to recognise assumptions – a crucial skill for any lawyer – this section had a significant amount of questions, so you can imagine I was delighted.

If you want to take the test, for £150, practice. Make sure you are clear on what the 5 sections require and make sure any weaker areas are focused on. You have 3 opportunities to pass the exam in 1 year, and you can only sit said exam once a month.

Apparently the results are supposed to indicate your potential success on the bar course. Again, this is not accurate. Yes you are required to think critically during the course, but this exam couldn’t tell you whether you will pass or understanding complex law exams. For example those achieving a marginal pass are said to struggle with the complex analysis and decision-making on the bar training course and that 47.8% have either failed or not completed the course yet. Compare that with a strong pass, in which 3.% have failed or not yet completed the course. I hope these are accurate as they are from the bar standards board. So, people still fail no matter what they achieved on the bcat. There is no guarantee of success, everyone will struggle at some point.

What’s the takeaway? You can’t avoid the test. Anyone wanting to enroll on the barrister training courses available in the UK has to pass this multiple choice exam. At first it appears easy, but don’t be fooled, don’t rush in thinking you can pass first time without practice. Maybe you can, but do you want to risk that? Practice!

This is potentially a good indicator of success and for choosing whether to go ahead and fully enroll on the course.

As an aspiring barrister, I hope that my decisions are the right ones. Trust in God that if it is to be, then it will be.

Welcome to the start of my journey!

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

As some of you may know, I have just recently completed my LLB degree. As a recent graduate (unable to attend a graduation ceremony yet) I feel extremely glad to have achieved what I have up to now – a degree in law. Graduating with a 2.1 upper second class undergrad LLB is an honour, and I graduate with honours.

This is when the real journey starts. Granted, I could have recorded my progress on my LLB and I considered doing so many times. The time wasn’t right and at the end of the day, the journey starts now, not during a course when you have no clue as to the future.

Satan once said that… no quotes from the devil in the same post as the law! A honourable and age old profession, lawyers are one of the oldest professions in the world. The legal profession has its origin in ancient Greece and Rome. Not quite as old as toolmakers or tailors, but relatively. If a couple of thousand years counts. To this day, the barristers of England and Wales must be a member of one of the four Inns of Court. Namely, the Lincolns Inn, Grays Inn, Middle Temple and Inner Temple. The temples have roots in the knights templar and the original knights templar Temple Church is located within Inner Temple grounds. Hosting the yearly ‘crossing the bar’ ceremonies. Some would say that the general area of Temple, London, is one big elite showground where big money talks and large, costly infrastructure gentrifies you as soon as you enter the area. Notable for its historic buildings, including the Royal Courts of Justice building, a recognisable legal piece.

See the source image
Picture from Bing images.

The barristers of England and Wales also get a reputation for being paid a lot. I can assure you that with some research and general internet reading that this is not the case. Solicitors have the stability and high pay of prestigious law firms and they instruct barristers to work in court on their clients behalf. A steady income for many. Barristers on the other hand are self employed, earning from the work they do and not a penny more. They have chambers rent, overheads, accountant fees, clerk fees, travel costs, indemnity insurance and the list is rather extensive. Naturally the longer they practice the more of a reputation they have and more income. Trainee barristers completing their ‘pupillage’ – a year long apprenticeship with chambers, are given a lump sum of money at the start… and criminal law is abysmal both in terms of pupillage awards and general pay, probably being the lowest paid out of all areas coupled with public law.

So they don’t earn a lot off the bat. In fact, they have accumulated in the region of £50-£60,000 in debt to become a barrister. It’s a 3 part journey. First, the degree. I say degree, because you can complete any degree, yes any, and then complete a 1 year graduate diploma in law (GDL) before progressing to stage 2, the bar practice or vocational course (BPC). They have recently updated the courses and now there are more options when choosing this path, including splitting the course into two, but more on that later. So, the GDL is essentially a fast track course and to be honest, I do not accept that GDL students can possibly learn and comprehend 3 years of law study in a year, including exams.

Anyway, rage aside, from either the law degree or GDL you go onto the barrister training course. The course consists of theoretical and practical exams, mock trials, plenty of advocacy and courtroom practice, mooting, pro bono (if you want) and the possibility to combine a master of law (LLM) with the course.

The costs for the bar course and a masters is going to set you back between £13,000 to £20,000, depending on study location and university or institute offering it. Passing the course is hard like anything else, more so for law students as its tons of reading and stressful work hours. There is also no guarantee of passing nor of going on to successfully get a pupillage. Many graduates work as paralegals during their courses to gain invaluable experience. I am completing pro bono voluntary work currently with an ‘environmental’ law firm. Don’t worry, I won’t blame the course fees on the environment.

So there you have it. I hope this post is of interest to someone out there. I also hope you enjoyed reading it. I will be posting things on this page, including photos when I get a camera phone again, so that you can follow my journey. It might be a weekly post, it may be a monthly post. All I know is, I can’t wait to sip that cold mojito on that warm beach.

Peace.