The Crown Court deals with under 10% of criminal cases that come before the courts in England and Wales: the vast majority of cases both begin and end in magistrates’ courts. Nevertheless, the centrality of the Crown Court to the criminal justice system is clear: its daily business is the prosecution and sentencing of the most serious forms of criminality.

The Crown Court also occupies a significant place in the public imagination. The ‘courtroom drama’ is a staple of popular entertainment, reflecting the fact that the real-life happenings in court are indeed a drama. They are dramatic because they are focused on extreme, and often harrowing and tragic, events in otherwise ordinary lives. But the drama of the courtroom inheres also in its very structures and processes: in the adversarial system which pits alleged offender against alleged victim; in the ritual and formality of the wigs, the gowns and the archaic modes of speech and interaction; and in the performances of barristers seeking to impress judges and juries with their eloquence, passion and sophisticated understanding of the intricacies of the law.

The study

This book presents the findings of a 20-month qualitative study of the Crown Court, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. Through extensive interviews with victims, witnesses and defendants; interviews with professionals and practitioners who work in or around court; and many hours of observation of court hearings, the study set out to address three broad questions:

• • What are the essential features of the Crown Court process, as it is experienced by victims, witnesses and defendants?

• • What is the nature of the interplay between the different players – including legal professionals and members of the public – in the courtroom?

• • To what extent do victims, witnesses and defendants regard court processes and outcomes as fair and legitimate?

The study emerged out of our interest in a number of overlapping themes. These include the factors that support or undermine access to justice for members of the public, both those accused of committing crime and those who are victims or witnesses of crime. Related to this theme is the question of whether individuals who come to court in any capacity feel that they are actively engaged in the process, and the extent to which any barriers to defendants’ ‘effective participation’ in court proceedings compromise their right to a fair trial.