The RCJ’s secret Crown Courts

Nestled away in the labyrinth of corridors within London’s grand Royal Courts of Justice, hidden away behind frosted glass doors, are a couple of Crown Courts dishing out justice almost in private.

You won’t see their cases listed on the daily RCJ cause list.

Or in the display cabinets:

Or on the notice boards outside the individual court rooms.

You can ask at the front desk to look at the list, although the one handed to me last week when I popped in was covered with scribbled notes.

You can also register on CourtServe, and once you have worked out which Crown Court manages the listing at the RCJ, you can scroll down to the bottom of its list (it’s Inner London).

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The two courtrooms at the RCJ which sit the Crown Court are 28 and 38.

Court 28 is down a set of corridors. No lists are displayed anywhere, an usher told me that they can’t be displayed because the RCJ doesn’t have electronic displays – I note that this is a problem that doesn’t affect the other court rooms at the RCJ … which use paper.

The window in the doors are frosted and this makes it difficult to know whether the court is sitting.

When I attended a trial in this court it seemed unsuitable for the hearing that was talking place. As I tweeted at the time, the jury entered the court room while a video of an interview was playing. The jury were told that “if we hit pause it restarts“.

The position of the TV screens were difficult for the jury to see too. I observed one jury member who had swivelled round 180 degrees on their bench to watch the TV positioned on the back wall.

The lack of a colour printer was blamed for a WhatsApp exchange having been printed in black and white. The jury were asked, by the barrister in the pre-recorder interview, to look at the 3rd green box from the top of the page. The Judge had to shout over the recording “that’s on the right hand side“.

Court 38 has a brass plaque screwed into one of its two doors – “Strictly Private” it says.

Both sets of doors are frosted – it’s not possible to see what’s going on without barging in.

With no list on display the court room appears closed – even when hearing a Jury trial.

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The Law

I do note similarities with the case of Storer v British Gas Plc. (See also: Article 6)

Henry LJ, sitting in the Court of Appeal, concluded on the particular facts of the case under consideration that “there was no chance of a member of the public dropping in” and as a result the court was unlawfully sitting in private.

The judge had previously said “it would be a simple stratagem not to list any case which the court administration wished to be heard in private.“

It would seem a risky strategy for HMCTS not to be overly proactive in listing these courts t allow members of the public to ‘drop in’.

The illusion of Open Justice created by displaying an incomplete set of lists, requiring the public to guess which court rooms are in use, cannot be acceptable in a society which places value on justice being seen to be done.

Solutions

1. Put a statement on the RCJ cause list “The Crown Court lists are available on …”
2. Have the lists on display in the cabinet in the middle of the hall
3. Have the list on display outside each court room
4. Have a sign “Public Entrance” to indicate which door should be used to gain access to the limited public seating.