Having your day in court

Most people seem to be apprehensive about going to Court and are very proud to say that they have never entered a courtroom in their lives.  While that may be a good thing if it means never having  been a party in a court matter, people who have never observed a trial in Court are missing out on a quite a bit. It is usually enlightening and often quite entertaining to sit in on matters which are interesting and involve arguments by well-trained and articulate counsel.

If it so happens that you have to attend court as a juror, or a witness, surety in a bail application or more so as a party in a matter it is important that you are aware of the process that you are involved in, the manner in which you ought to dress and how to address the officers of the Court like the judge, Master or Magistrate. This article is intended to provide you with some helpful information to make your experience a bit easier and less daunting.

First we will start with the different types of Courts.  There is what is referred to as the hierarchy of Courts. This in essence means that the Courts are ranked in order of importance or finality. In Dominica, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council continues to be the final appellate Court.  It is therefore at the top.  The Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal is next, followed by the High Court (loosely including the Master’s Court) and finally the Magistrate’s Court is at the bottom.

This hierarchy of courts could impact your case, for example, if your lawyer has more than one matter set for the same day in courts of different ranks. If your matter is a magistrate’s court matter and she has another matter at the High Court at the same time, she may request that your matter in the Magistrate’s Court be put down for later after she has dealt with her matter in the High Court. Or if it is not possible she may ask that the matter at the Magistrate’s Court be set for another date altogether. The High Court takes precedence over the Magistrate’s Court.

What to wear …or what not to wear

I was pleasantly surprised to see, some time ago, a notice up on the doors of the Magistrate’s courts, Roseau describing to people having business in court the type of attire which is allowed and the type of attire which would earn one a rebuff from the police officer at the door or the Magistrate (if someone in breach of the rules happened to get that far).

Let us start with the lawyers. Most if not all of us learn in law school that only suits of sober colours are allowed. And by sober colours I refer to black, grey and dark blue. Some lawyers, however, have been known to stretch it a bit and wear brown at the Magistrate’s Court. People often ask me why do lawyers always wear black. The only answer I can give is the one I learnt in law school: that it is a tradition received, just like the legal system, from the British and it is meant to reflect the seriousness of the profession which we have chosen to enter into. Thankfully we no longer need to wear wigs as was the custom until some years ago. Black gowns are only worn by attorneys who have been called to the bar and only at the Higher Courts.

Claimants, Defendants, witnesses and other people having business in the Court should be neatly attired. It will be too exhaustive a list if I were to pinpoint every do and don’t but I will attempt to give some advice on common problems.
I have seen many peeved people go to the stores next door to purchase blouses and shirts when they come to court with sleeveless tops, only to find out that this is wholly inappropriate.  Ensure that your tops have adequate sleeves and that they are not too tight. Think ‘day at the office’ rather than ‘day at the beach’.

Speaking about beach, I like flip flops more than the average person but these also are not allowed in Court. The wearing of sunglasses is not allowed unless there is a medical reason for having them on in Court.  Ladies can wear hats but men ought not to wear hats and caps in court.

Some judges do not approve of the wearing of denim (jeans) trousers especially by those who have to address them in Court. Therefore, if you are one of the parties in the matter or a witness it would be wise to avoid wearing those when you attend court. It is far better to err on the side of caution.

Addressing the Court

Unless you are a regular at the Courts it is very likely that you will not be familiar with the manner in which you are to address the different judicial officers.  Magistrates are usually referred to as ‘Your Worship’.  The master who is the judicial officer at the Master’s Court is referred to as ‘Master (whatever his or her surname is) or My  (pronounced Muh) Lord or Lady. At the High Court and Court of Appeal, judges sit and they are referred to as ‘My Lord’ and ‘My Lady’.

If you are to give evidence, lawyers will ask you questions. Your answers should always be directed at the judicial officer i.e the judge, master or magistrate and you should always be polite and respectful in your response. You should also be mindful that the judge or magistrate needs to record your answers so you should make an effort to speak loudly, clearly and slowly enough so that he or she can properly record what you have said.  The judicial officers as well should be respectful to the parties at Court including witnesses and the defendant.

Now that you are aware of these do’s and don’ts, I hope that you will be better prepared when you attend Court.  I particularly hope that you will be spared  embarrassment and expense which I think, is more the result of not knowing how to dress or what to say rather than willful defiance of the rules.

Rose-Anne Charles, LLB (Hons), LEC, LLM is an Attorney-at-law, Mediator, Notary Public.