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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Vol. 37, No. 18. July 24, 1974

From the Courts

From the Courts

Judges gavel

A young person appeared before Mr G.P Monaghan SM, accused of stealing $10 from his employers. The clerk asked the accused whether he wished to be dealt with by this court or tried by jury. He answered, "by jury". Counsel for the accused interrupted and said, "He's got that all wrong. He wishes to be dealt by this court". This instance is one of many in which the accused person is not aware of the procedure of the court even when represented by counsel. The government should employ staff to assist defendants in the court by explaining its procedures. Few lawyers are prepared to spend the time with their clients to educate them as to the procedures of the court. Why does the advice given by many lawyers seem to be proportional to their clients annual income?

There's an old maxim that justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done. That is, the public must know what's going on.

After a morning in the Magistrates Court recently, one observer said that the maxim should be extended to say 'justice must not only be done, It must be heard to be done.' Standing in the public gallery at the beck of the court, it was often impossible to hear what the magistrate was saying, particularly when he addressed the defendants. Whether or not defendants themselves could hear was questionable. Some of them were obviously having difficulty following what was going on but then there could be several explanations for that.

But the public, and at times the press bench, had to crane their ears to catch was was going on. How will they ever internalise the pearls that magistrates drop, if they cannot even hear them?

On some occasions it was difficult to avoid the conclusion that the magistrate was speaking softly because he had something to say to a defendant that ho didn't want anybody else to hear.

The duty solicitor scheme was introduced recently into the courts to try and break down some of their mysterious air for for defendants with no knowledge of the law. Often magistrates or court clerks used to baffle defendants with their intoned list of charges, the quick fire questions on 'how do you plead' and the Inscrutable choice between being tried by a jury or' by the magistrates court. In fact, those questions still baffle defendants. Now the duty solicitors are a new element of confusion for some. After a night in the police cells and a long wait in the, cell behind the court the defendant is flung in the box and proceeds to show he doesn't know what's happening. Unfortunately, being told that a duty solicitor can be seen in the nearby chambers without an appointment and the case may be deferred, doesn't often get across, particularly to those unfamiliar with just what a solicitor does. Also, of course, its little solace for those who for one reason or another, usually a good one, don't trust solicitors further than they could moot them. So they [unclear: justs] 'Nan' and the old-style justice revs up and is [unclear: dispens]

An elderly man appeared before Mr G.P. Monaghan SM on a charge of being found drunk in a public place. The accused had three previous convictions of drunkeness. He pleaded guilty and was fined $10 and court costs. No one bothered to question the broken skin on his forehead which was partly covered by plaster.

Are the police so underworked that they must arrest alcoholics who are hardly going to be helped by any court or prison? Alcoholics are a product of a society where the manufacturers of the drug alcohol are knighted for their services to the community.

The introduction of the duty solicitor scheme has allowed many people of committing offences to have direct access to a solicitor. The majority of people who now appear before magistrates are remanded for a week to seek legal advice. In the Wellington Magistrates Court last week a female cleaner was charged with using obscene language namely fucking in a public place (Cuba Street) Similarly a young steel worker was charged with using obscene language namely "fuck off pigs" in a public place (Taranaki St). Both were remanded on $100 bail while they sought legal advice. The police regularly prosecute people for obscene language. In their evidence the police usually state that the language used would have been heard by women and children in the vicinity. However some of these offences occur in the early hours of the morning and others in places where no women or child would be present. Evidence given by the police should relate to the particular circumstances of each individual offence.

Two young women, after appearing in the Wellington Magistrates Court, were ordered by the magistrate to stand down. Instead of going free and leaving immediately, as is customary, they were tapped on the shoulder by a police officer and motioned to sit on two chairs nearby the dock. They sat there not knowing what to do for some time. They were still there when this reporter left the court. What was the police officer's intention for detaining these persons in the court? The police should not interfere with defendants who are ignorant of court procedures by insisting they remain in court. Such police officers could have actions brought against them for false imprisonment.