The BBC reports: The government is considering whether to allow some sentencing in English courts to be televised, it has emerged.
At first assessment it seems to be a sensible idea in part. It will give the public a chance to see how our criminal justice system works and is all very worthy. Many judges and experienced practitioners support the idea.
HOWEVER… this being Britain and the attention span for detail (and *fact*) being limited for most of us in busy 21st century online overload lives, I suspect that it will be a short lived wonder. The TV companies and tabloids will want corrupt MP’s, ‘paedos’ and the flotsam and jetsam of a Hogarthian nightmare on trial.
After the Olympics in 2012… we may well have a stadium which could be employed by a Coalition government keen to give ‘free bread’ to the people of Britain to distract them from yet another failed government. Let the Games…begin.
“Ave, Camcorderdirector, morituri te salutant“…
“HAIL..PM Camcorderdirect…We who are about to be sentenced as a spectacle for the British people, a once proud liberal people after the Second World War, the European Convention (which we had a major part in drafting) and the Human Rights Act, salute you.”
History is a wonderful thing… especially when it is used for brutal entertainment. Personally… I don’t care for justice as spectacle for the ravening horde. I thought we were were beyond such human degradation. Obviously, I am wrong. Mea culpa. That I am wrong and in the minority, perhaps, troubles me not a jot. Go for it… my fellow Britons… it is your country…democracy is great… innit Gr8.. ROFLMFarkinAssangeO…LOL blah blah blah?
The televised proceedings in the Supreme Court have been interesting to watch, but I will confess, I find it easier to read the judgments – fascinating though it is to see top judges in colour!
Again.. being Britain… we really do need a host in a tuxedo…. how about former hangman Sir Bertie Pierrepoint? WE could have a panel of judges in full kit with implausible names… Mr Justice Noose? and we could certainly bring in audience participation by reprising The Golden Shot…. “Up a bit… down a bit” … or at the very least…. “Ask the audience” from “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire”.
That is all.
Meanwhile… in Rule Britannialand…
Riot jail sentences in crown courts longer than normal
The Grauniad... gawd bless their cotton wikisocks reports: …….
Those top judges in colour must be a gas when you know that in reality they’re a nostalgic shade of sepia.
personally im just hoping this leads to reruns of ‘crown court’ 😉
There are some extremely popular court programs in the U.S. One show I know of will pay the judgement as an incentive for both parties to agree to be televised. In the end, it is about entertainment more than enlightenment.
It would be nice to see you a few more members of the public taking a trip to their nearest Crown Court and spending some time observing proceedings from the gallery.
It’s all very well and good televising snippets, but if the public want transparency in the criminal justice system a bit of effort may not go amiss. I fail to see the point in airing sentencing hearings when all of the context of the trial (if there was one) is buried away.
So, rather than allowing people to remain firmly planted on their arses, they should be encouraged to get out, go into court and have a look. If they can’t be bothered to do that, sod ’em!
Actually I have to agree with Carrefax, if the public want more access to justice, they should go down to the courts. I dont have access to crown courts being up here in jock land, but do visit the local sheriff courts when I am at a loose end, and can confirm that for the most part it appears that unless you are actually involved in proceedings yourself or related to someone who is, then the public dont really go, even though all they need to do is walk in and take a seat. Watching a complete trial is always fascinating, watching a televised sentencing is not going to really do much other than to provide a steady stream of guilty faces for people to leer at from the comfort of their sofa, and that should not be the public face of the courts; that sounds more like a return to hanging festivals to be honest without the death, and doesnt really provide open justice to me as justice is not really all about the sentencing is it?
Next it will be a Sunday Morning Live style text in poll for the verdict.
The camcorderdirect decision makes me weep. Anyone who followed the Casey Anthony trial/circus play out on Fox News (with accompanying commentary) will understand why.
Now that sentencing is on the cards for my tee-vee viewing, it’s only a matter of time another genius decides, a la the States, that the entire trial should be televised.
The baying mob were waiting for Casey Anthony – and her lawyer – and the jurors. I await such developments in this country.
In the meantime, I wonder if HMCS will flick on the sentencing cameras at Highbury Mags? Then we can all watch the newly convicted and sentenced salute his pals on the way down/out.
Get the popcorn.
There may – and I say this very tentatively – be a possibility that this move will, when it gets to Crown Court level, actually result in sentences getting tougher so as to head media opinion off at the canyon.
“I don’t care for justice as spectacle for the ravening horde. I thought we were were beyond such human degradation. ”
I agree. However, I have no problem with televising appellate proceedings and/or decisions.
[…] courts to warn against its potentially damaging effects. The daddy of all legal bloggers, Charon QC, has described the government’s announcement that court judgements will be televised as ‘justice […]
This is a good idea, but if the camera broadcast the whole case then that might be bad.
I’m all for televised sentencing in the courts………….But not to shame the people that are found guilty…………….
I’d want it just to make sure that there are no miscarriages of justice, and that the accused is treated fairly by all.
Quite a few innocent people get beaten into making false confessions by Policemen and it would be nice if they occasionally faced justice for their criminal actions. (Know what I mean?)
[…] process?” Felicity Gerry however, in response to the idea that judicial sentencing may become the reality TV show of choice, argued that “even barristers need to move with the times, and showing people the […]
[…] The first is a pithy, ever so sligthly tongue-in-cheek (surprise, surprise) piece by CharonQC: Law Review: “Ave, Camcorderdirector, morituri te salutant” … Prime Minister calls for sent… The second is Louise Restell’s rejoinder in The […]
I recenty read an article about this and it mentioned that the viewer would only be able to see the final verdict anyway. If this is to be the case, would it not take the entire trial out of context?
Sophie Hobson, Deputy Editor, LondonLovesBusiness
I suppose Sophie it will depend on how in depth the judge goes in summing up, there would have to be some background of the case given to give any value to the broadcast