How do you take lawyers (barristers?) seriously with those wigs on their heads?

Posted by last_child3@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 24 comments

Watching Broadchurch and am struuuuuggling with these extremely serious charters with silly wigs on their heads.

Other confusing differences between US and UK courtroom etiquette:

*why does the witness have to stand?

*why does the witness turn and recite answers to the jury?

*why is the defendant kept in a glass box?

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Illidh@reddit

NAL

Stand to show respect, face the jury because that’s who they are actually speaking to, and keep them in a box so that they are separate from the law abiding citizens in the courtroom

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last_child3@reddit (OP)

Right, but doesn’t having them in the box create some prejudice?

Does the UK have the principle of “innocent until proven guilty?” Feels a bit unfair to present the accused as a caged criminal when the whole point of a trial is to determine guilt or innocence.

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last_child3@reddit (OP)

I’m getting downvoted, but my question is sincere. I’m asking out of genuine curiosity. Then again, Reddit will be Reddit. :)

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Alternative-Emu2000@reddit

Your question may indeed by sincere, but the way you asked it could come across as being patronising and antagonistic.

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It's a fair enough question. SixCardRoulette has posted something that, at a glance, covers a lot of the issue there. It has been a point of discussion across Commonwealth legal systems in the past, but nobody seems all that bothered with it at the moment.

Ultimately it's the "being in court as a defendant" that might incline a person to improperly suspect guilt rather than where they sit in my view. As I mentioned in my other post, secure docks that are enclosed are not the norm in British courts.

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SixCardRoulette@reddit

You might find this interesting reading:

JUSTICE-In-the-Dock.pdf

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Lazy-Field-1116@reddit

We don't laugh because most of us will never face them so don't really think about them day to day. Those that do face them aren't laughing because they're in a court of law and it would be inappropriate.

The glass box is to hold defendants. Theoretically, they can't escape or attack others in the room.

For the rest of it, we're a different country from yours with a different legal system and customs.

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AppearanceAwkward364@reddit

The glass box is to hold defendants. Theoretically, they can't escape or attack others in the room.

They also protect the defendant from being attacked.

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WinkyNurdo@reddit

I defy anyone to stand in front of a judge, KC or barrister in any court room and find anything about it funny. Many years ago I was called as a witness and questioned in court, I found everything about it completely unnerving. You’re standing there in front of the system, and it suddenly feels quite immovable and massive. Glass boxes are there for everyone’s protection, the defendant included. Try not to forget our legal system and traditions are about four times as old as the US, with the regalia and wigs originating in the 17thC.

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quartersessions@reddit

The wigs are weird if you're not culturally acclimatised to them. No two ways about it.

Standing is generally done in the witness box (obviously not required if you're old, disabled etc) because people generally stand to address the court - whether that be the defendant, the lawyers or anyone else. While a witness is in the witness box, that's what they'll generally be doing.

In real courts, witnesses usually look either to the judge or the person asking the questions. They don't generally turn to address the jury in any way - that's a bit of televisual licence being taken.

The defendants in British courts sit in the dock. Older American courts had this system too - although it died out in the late 19th and early 20th centuries - there were legal cases in the US about immediate access to counsel etc which motivated this. It evolved from a time where the interior of the court was a professional space, and "outsiders" - defendants, witnesses, the public - were kept very much beyond the "bar".

The glass box is a secure dock and is only used in a handful of courts where they may have serious offenders who may present a risk to safety or a risk of escape - so, again, something TV will focus on more. There's lots of different dock designs, but in general it's just a wooden seating area that a person sits or stands in, sometimes with a stairway going down to the court cells.

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last_child3@reddit (OP)

This was super detailed and helpful, thank you!

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FoggyTeacups@reddit

Crown Court handles some really serious offences so it’s challenging not to? When I was being cross examined… it was brutal, I couldn’t care less what was on his head.

The standing is a mixture of respect and formality, and visibility so the jury can see their body language. Addressing the jury makes sense because they’re literally the decision maker…

The glass box isn’t a standard in most court rooms. That glass box is when there are security concerns that they decide warrant it.

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