Tag: england law

Criminal advocacy 101

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Journey into law.

The continuing quest to enter the profession of the noble and historic barrister. I’ve been blessed to be able to sit in this warm apartment with my heating. I am blessed to be able to buy ready made meals, drinks and ‘accessories’ on will. Not everyone has those blessings or opportunities. A significant population of the world does not have access to clean water, nor do they get 3 meals a day… they may go hungry for days because they can’t afford food or there simply isn’t any available. Many live in unsanitary conditions and have to live in shacks. They are at the knife point of various drug and trafficking gangs and a lot will be killed before they reach their 20th birthday.

When you conjure up an image of justice in your mind, do you automatically picture a 1st world country court? Perhaps you envision a revolution, a crown court trial, a mother receiving restitution for the wrongly gained, or a child being reunited with their lost parents. Subjective, arguably, is the perception of justice. Not so fast, you see there is a definition and it goes like this ( according to – https://www.thefreedictionary.com/justice):

1) The quality of being just; fairness: in the interest of justice, we should treat everyone the same

2.a.) The principle of moral rightness; decency. b) Conformity to moral rightness in action or attitude; righteousness: argues for the justice of his cause.

3.a) The attainment of what is just, especially that which is fair, moral, right, merited, or in accordance with law: my client has not received justice in this hearing.

So we seek to maintain a just, fair society which is morally correct and any breach of that is to treat people differently and to breach the law. Of course, nowadays treating people differently has indeed become a criminal offence in some cases. You couldn’t now in the 21st century get away with homophobic or racist remarks. But, merely 50 years ago and indeed not even that long, people were saying these things more often. I personally don’t think there has been much of a change, but there is the fear now that one is breaching the law if they were to make such a ‘remark.’ Civilised society has become a bubble wrapped and tightly controlled arena, with the big cats with the money influencing huge policy makers and government. Private investment into new technologies and advertising has seen the general population brainwashed by morality propaganda. I’m not justifying those racist or homophobic remarks, or anything else that would breach protected characteristics according to the Equality Act 2010. Some of those include age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership and pregnancy or maternity. But, rather, I am saying that morality doesn’t need to be enforced, it is learned and one can choose to obey or not to obey. The latter will see you (if caught) being persecuted by the state or private corporation. The former will also do the same, rendering you a slave to the idea that somehow those individuals are ‘targeted’ and ‘victims.’ If you cry wolf that doesn’t mean you care what happens to the victims.

Trying to control what people think and telling them how to behave is a sure fire way to provoke even the most docile of humans. Why? Because we have autonomy and freedom of thought. You can tell a group not to discuss the elephant in the room, but at the end of the day, it’s there and they will discuss it. Criminal justice has been spiraling downwards for a number of years. Legal aid cuts, fewer pupillage spaces and a general lack of money at the bar drives people away from this extremely tiring job. Criminal barristers spend more time working than they are paid for. If society wants a just and accepting place for all, then instead of stoking the fires of inequality, hatred and fear, instead focus on improving the structure already in place and provide Just and moral outcomes within the criminal justice system, adjust the propaganda machine accordingly. We don’t want people in prison based on their opinions of society, we want people to be able to live freely and without fear.

Thanks for reading. Namaste and peace be with you.

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.