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Maidstone Combined Courts - Mock Trials
Sarah in 11C sent this report:
Resuming in the Maidstone Combined Courts for the first time in 4 years, the Mock Bar Trial on the 25th of November saw the Invicta Law Hub discuss the fictional R v Newton and R v Hynes.
After an opening ceremony, the Invicta Defence team delivered their arguments for the first case (R v Newton), examining the overlap between morals and legality as shown in the Computer Misuse Act 1990 - does our right to privacy excuse media theft? The defence was highly commended by the Resident Judge, Julian William Smith, stating the performance of our barristers, witnesses, and usher swayed his initial judgement of the case. The others and I on the defence team proudly secured an acquittal.
The prosecution, having to perform both cases (R v Newton and R v Hynes) similarly did an outstanding job; this was pointed out by the Maidstone Crown Court Usher at the end of the third round. Witnesses expertly handled tricky cross-examinations from opposing schools, attempting to mimic the style of some Kent and Medway barristers, and our prosecution barristers piqued the judge’s interest by introducing the theoretical idea as to whether “prevention is better than cure” when approaching a moral conundrum such as that in the first case.
This idea was carried into the Q&A session, in which we asked about how the philosophy of law is actualised in everyday court, followed by a mini-lecture by the three judges as to whether rehabilitation was necessary for the justice system, prompted by a question from the Charter School. The judges reported that the average sentence had increased from approximately 14 months and 2 weeks to 22 months and 2 weeks just over the last year, with Judge Smith commenting on the resentment that builds up in prisoners after serving long sentences where no attempts at reform are made. The fact that "it costs £46,000 to habilitate a low-level offender, and up to £350,000 for Class A prisoners" left us all aghast.
Congratulations to the entire Senior Law Hub, especially those who participated today in achieving Invicta's best-ever score, achieving 2nd place for the first time. A special thank you to Miss Harding and Miss Griggs, who have helped us tirelessly in our preparations and whose advice is greatly valued.
