Inns of Court

The Inns of Court
How fortunate to have a retired barrister guiding us. I don’t think a tour guide or even a history teacher could gain access to the Inns of Court; or tell us what it feels like to wear a wig. The Royal Court is huge, and another place we got lost in; so many halls and steps and passageways. But I am surprised that it was so quiet. Walk through the Los Angeles County Superior Courthouse even at 8 in the morning, and you will encounter lawyers and clients sitting on benches all along the hallways, prepping for court. When I go walking in downtown LA, I can spot the lawyers, big briefcases, small suitcases on wheels, and folders of even more paperwork. But no wigs and lace collars.
The lecture highlighted the differences in our system. The UK does not recognize the separation of church and state. As the guide pointed out, Christ, not the blind lady, sits astride their building. There are bishops in the House of Lords passing laws still. And of course, this is not a republic, but a constitutional monarchy, although England has no written constitution. Unwritten common law rules the government.
No death penalty. That is quite a change from the past, with the chopping off of heads and quartering the still living victims in front of a cheering public.
But we have many links also. The basic right to a trial, to counsel, and the presumption of innocence is shared in our systems, although the right to remain silent is interpreted differently in the UK. Silence is a right, but the UK defendant cannot add on to his original silent testimony. Rules of evidence apply in these courts, although I neglected to ask the lecturer if British courts abided by precedents, as we do in the US And the UK moved to establish a Supreme Court rather than having the House of Lords as the final court of appeal has lead to a further separation of power in the UK.
Whose Bill of Rights came first? Go to court, and its the “People versus . . ” not quite so intimidating as the “Queen versus ...” Training in the law upholds these older traditions in the UK. But Parliament seems to act fairly quickly in passing laws. In the US, of course, one goes to law school -- big name school or night community college; one only has to pass the bar exam, and go looking for work.
Most fascinating: jury selection. In UK, more random: first 12 in the box and it’s a go. In Los Angeles I have served on jury duty maybe a dozen times. When I was just a student, I was acceptd many times. Later on, as a social worker or a high school teacher, I was always excused. If I told you the reasons why, you probably wouldn’t believe me.