- Oct 17, 2008
- 10,670
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Ken Barlow's Jury Out
- Thread starter Lenny Rider
- Start date
Not going to comment on your long post - I found it hard to follow and nodded off - but this caught my eye. It's strictly forbidden to coach witnesses and judges will take a dim view of it
The ex-Mrs Gwylan was a barrister and she told me that the CPS was populated by less than able lawyers, all working for little money and under great pressure. She did some prosecution work as a pupil but said she'd never do it again.
- Oct 17, 2008
- 10,670
Perhaps "coaching" is the wrong term. It is known that witnesses are offered advice on how to speak earnestly on the stand and techniques to control this. There is nothing unethical about this. You can't be told what to say, but you can be advised on the virtue of answering earnestly and honestly. Common sense would tell you that laughing under those circumstances would be a hindrance to the credibility of your testimony. But, as I said, she probably wasn't given any counselling about her alleged assault, she was simply told to turn up at court at a set time and date and shoved in front of a video camera, feeling embarrassed and nervous with little if any sympathetic support workers on hand or friendly faces allowed in the room.
There was a really interesting discussion about people's experiences as witnesses and victims of crime on Radio 5 Live recently, which was most enlightening.