Top Tips for defendants when summoned to court
- Turn up at the right court and book in with the usher
- Attend in good time, do not be late
- Be prepared to wait around until your case is called
- Listen carefully to court announcements
- Dress sensibly /smartly
- Turn off your mobile phone (mobile phones are not allowed in a court room)
- No audio, video or photography allowed in court buildings
- Note taking is not allowed unless you have prior permission / approval
- No dogs allowed *(unless guide dog /assistance dog)
Magistrates’ court: Magistrates’ address as – “Your Worships”
Magistrates Court: District Judge- address as – “Your Worship”
Crown Court: Judge Address as – “Your Honour”
High Court: Judge Address as – “My Lord”
As the defendant you may speak to the duty solicitor (now called advocates) free of charge, if you are being prosecuted. You must inform the court usher that this is what you wish to do. You have the right to speak for yourself in court without a solicitor or legal profession.
You may be known as:
- ‘the litigant in person’
- Applicant
- Respondent
- Defendant
This all depends if your case is heard in the:
- family
- civil or
- criminal courts
Magistrates’ court: Who will be in court room?
- the Magistrates (usually 3);
- you and your advocate if you have one;
- the prosecution, either the police or the Attorney General
- Any media reporters (newspapers, radio, etc.);
- the clerk to the justices;
- the court usher;
- the dock officer;
- any public sitting in the public gallery; and
- Any witnesses.
What happens when I give evidence?
When you are asked to give your evidence, you must be sworn in. To do this you will be asked to take the oath on a Holy Book of your religion, or you can affirm (promise) to tell the truth. The court usher will usually check with you before court which you want to do. You must read aloud from the oath or affirmation card. If you have trouble reading the card, the court usher will read it to you, you must repeat what they say.
When the Magistrates have heard all the evidence, they will retire to make their decision. Once they have decided, they will return to the courtroom to hand down their decision, and then decide on any sentence if you have been found guilty.
Top Tips for Prosecution witness when attending court
- Turn up at the right court and book in with the usher
- Attend in good time, do not be late
- Be prepared to wait around until the case is called
- Listen carefully to court announcements
- Dress sensibly /smartly
- Turn off your mobile phone ( mobile phones are not allowed in a court room)
- No audio, video or photography allowed in court buildings
- Note taking is not allowed unless you have prior permission / approval
- No dogs allowed *(unless guide dog /assistance dog)
- You will be kept in a separate room / area away from the defendant whilst waiting to give your evidence
Do not talk to any other person about your evidence before you go into the witness box. It could make the court query whether you have made an agreement on what to say. You can speak to police officers or lawyers although you cannot discuss your evidence with them. You must not discuss your evidence with others involved.
- When you are called to give evidence as a witness, an usher will show you to the witness box.
- You will normally be expected to stand up while you are giving evidence, and you should let the usher or Witness Service know if you think you will need to sit down.
- You will be asked to take the oath. This means you have to swear to tell the truth on the holy book of your religion.
- If you prefer, you can affirm (promise) to tell ‘the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth’.
- The usher will ask you whether you want to affirm or swear on a holy book before you go into the courtroom.
- The usher or Witness Service will also ask you about any other religious and cultural beliefs you may want to observe before giving evidence.
Giving your evidence
- Giving evidence in court is not the same as when you first made a witness Statement.
- Lawyers will ask you questions and they may seem to repeat questions
- Your evidence will help the court to decide whether the defendant is guilty or not
- If you don’t know or are not sure of the answer to any questions you should say so.
- You can ask the magistrates for advice.
- Don’t worry if you are told you cannot say certain things when you are giving evidence. This is because there are some rules about the kind of evidence the court can hear.
- Take your time and speak slowly and clearly because people will be writing down everything you say.
- Ask for questions to be repeated if you don’t understand or can’t hear
- The magistrate will not know everything about your case, so take care not to leave anything out of your evidence.
