On Monday 18th March, our Year 12 Law students had the opportunity to visit Victoria Law Courts in Birmingham. Not only was this a fantastic opportunity to develop an understanding of the role of legal and lay personnel which is linked to their studies but also to see how the Magistrates Court and judicial processes operates first hand.
On arrival, and after the search process, as this is a requirement when entering a court, we were taken on a tour around the Grade 1 listed building, first opened in 1891 led by Sir Mark Aspinall; Chair of the Bench. This included visiting court rooms where we were given information about each part of the room and stories from past trials held, a visit to the Law Library and some of the office areas.
Students were also able to directly observe the different roles within the court and engage in court practice by observing one of the criminal trials taking place. They witnessed the law in practice during the hearing of a case of criminal damage. Students were also fortunate enough to have a member of the Crown Prosecution Service come and talk to them, whilst in the court room, about the offence the defendant was charged with and even shared her email to allow them ask further questions and the opportunity of work experience!
The visit was thoroughly enjoyed by all and the only thing that students said they were not happy about was having to leave!
Below is a sample of the students comments on the day:
Nathan – I found the trip very informative about how court works as it was different from the image I had put together in my head from what we had learned in class.
Taylor – I found the trip really interesting and enjoyable. My favourite part was actually listening to the case and seeing how everything actually works as opposed to listening to it in a classroom. The only downside to the whole day was that we didn’t have enough time to listen to the case that was on next because that case sounded really interesting! It was good to see things first hand.
Ewan – I really enjoyed the trip to the court because it showed me how the law operates. My favourite part was listening to the case to see how the cases play out with the prosecutors and the magistrate asking questions to the defendant in the glass box. The only downside was not being able to listen to more, especially the next case on a robbery. This trip has definitely opened my eyes more to the law straying me more towards pursuing a career in it.
Jai – The trip was really beneficial to our studies as it helped us gain an insight into the roles of legal personnel which is a whole section of our course. Plus, the fact we got to see a real case happen, was amazing as we got to understand and see the way legal terms are actually used in a real courtroom. Sir Mark Aspinall also gave an interesting summary of each of the courtrooms and their features, in addition to how his role of Head of Magistrates is very important.
Heebah – I had enjoyed most aspects of the trip such as going into the library and watching the cases. The staff were all lovely and extremely helpful while giving us information and touring us around, and I liked being shown around the different court rooms as well as what functions they had.
