Introduction
My visits to the Local Courts have been a major eye-opener to my understanding of the administration of justice; that it is varied and colourful, at times solemn and formal, at others less so, at times very tedious and at other times, deeply thought-provoking. For the purposes of this description, I have divided my observations into three sections: the physical aspects, a description and comparison of the different Courts I visited; proceedings and rituals, a description of the various matters I attended; the moods and personas of the court, a description of the atmosphere of the different Courts, what created to this atmosphere and the actions and attitudes of the characters I encountered.
Physical Aspects of Courts
Local Courts vary in physical presence according to the year and location in which they were built. From the exterior, certain locations, such as the Central Criminal Court (‘Central’), with its impressive sandstone architecture , boldly ‘look’ like courts. Others, like the Downing Centre (‘Downing’), are more concealed and ambiguous in appearance, visually suggesting a hotel or shopping centre rather than a judicial building. Fairfield Local Court (‘Fairfield’), I observed, had a more unusual appearance, suggestive of a suburban library . Indeed Local Courts do not seem to take any one particular architectural form.
Likewise, the interior of the courts visited varied, consistent with the style of the building. The courts of the Central featured aspects of its colonial architecture: a formal courtroom with dark mahogany benches, a plaque above the apex of the magistrate’s chair, frescoed high ceilings and walls of a pale green hue. Without the enclosed dock in the centre, it could well have been mistaken for a chamber of government. In stark contrast were the courts of the Downing: very small and pentagonal in shape, the room contained furniture the colour of beech, more modern and office-like. Similar to their exterior shells, the interior courtrooms of Local Courts varied in design and decor according to the architecture of the building.
Proceedings and Rituals
All the matters to be handled in a particular day would be listed on a courtlist, posted in the atrium of the Court. I learnt that listing order of those matters is not important; the magistrate will instruct the court officer which parties to call in and in what order. Once the parties are present in the courtroom, the hearing will begin.
Matters heard were, for the most part, summary offences : common assault, parking infringements and applications for Apprehended Violence Orders (AVOs). Usually these matters were dealt with and concluded in one hearing, although an adjournment may be granted in extreme circumstances . The length of these matters varied: a self-represented plea of guilty to assault and subsequent conviction only took fifteen minutes , whereas laborious cross-examination lengthened a trial I heard to two whole court days.
The rituals of bowing to the magistrate as you entered or left and reference to him/her as ‘Your Honour’, seemed to be strictly adhered to by everyone, even the most casually-dressed of applicants . Other rituals I saw were related to procedure and evidence: a lawyer always referred to his opponent as ‘my friend’ ; only the opponent lawyer can ask leading questions under cross-examination; supporting evidence tendered can be challenged by the opponent, although in most cases it was not.
