If you go down to the courts today...

On this depressing and drizzly day Christina and I decided to head to the courts. What better way to spend your mid-week break than to have a nosey at the court system? I am not going to deny how out of place we looked, as the only people in the entire building not wearing black or some form of suit jacket, alongside the fact we were at least twenty years younger than every person we encountered. I have never felt more like a sore thumb. Fortunately the security guard sensed the no doubt overwhelming nervousness we were emitting, and lightened the mood with some university related banter whilst he rifled through my belongings.

We were greeted with a sigh from a woman behind the desk, apparently today was a poor choice on our part, as today was a slow day and there was only one case left to be heard. However refusing to be disheartened, we found our way to court seven and snuck into the public gallery. Unfortunately the case we were hearing was in its third day and was not due to conclude until tomorrow, so the first half an hour was one of the most confusing moments of my life. After a while we managed to get a gist of what we were observing and it turns out was a case about drugs possession by a prisoner. However a previous assault which had taken place within the prison against the defendant was the focus of today, as this was the basis of his defence of duress. It was all going quite well, sitting in silence, learning about how the court system works, and then it happened, the ever embarrassing stomach rumble. If there was ever an inappropriate moment for my body to express a need for food, this trumps them all.

Two hours later the judge decided to call it a day, he gave speech to the jury about why they shouldn’t discuss the case with other people when they get home, and we took this as our queue to sneak out. Slightly dazed and confused we attempted to grasp a clear understanding of what we had just heard as we softened our starvation with a shared cereal bar. As far as this case is concerned I guess I shall never know what will happen to the prisoner sat behind the glass, but I would without a doubt sit in the public gallery again through another trial. Although perhaps next time I’ll eat a hearty meal before I go…