With a schedule of the day’s court list in our hands the Fourth Year GCSE Law group set off to Winchester Crown Court. The cases included the infamous Markham murder trial in front of The Honourable Mr Justice Morland; fraud case; unlawful wounding; attempted murder; affray trial and a manslaughter case.
We were greeted at the entrance by Mrs Bryne, a court official, who gave each of us a packet of leaflets, explained courtroom etiquette and showed us a small courtroom.
Firstly we watched the trial of the Starling brothers who were accused of attempted murder. It was fascinating to see how the prosecution barrister revealed to that the witness might be lying and the atmosphere grew very tense.
We then saw The Honourable Mr Justice McKinnon sentence a defendant for murder, he announced a Hospital Order on the grounds of diminished responsibility. An expert psychiatrist gave his evidence from the witness box. We were all impressed by the Judge’s clear explanation of the reasons for his decision.
Later Mrs Bryne showed us the courtroom where the Markham trial was taking place and pointed out some of the exhibits. We felt honoured to be given such consideration and actually to sit in the dock itself for a few minutes while we asked questions.