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My Trip to the Royal Courts of Justice

For our topic CRIME AND PUNISMENT we went to the Royal Courts of Justice. It was opened by Queen Victoria in 1882. George Edmund Street designed the building, but sadly died before it was finished. The Royal Courts of Justice consists of the High Court and the Court of Appeal. On our trip, we visited the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal is an appellate court and the second highest court in England. Below the Court of Appeal are the High Court and the Crown Court. If a decision made in the High Court or Crown Court is incorrect or has followed the wrong procedure, appeals can be allowed in the Court of Appeal. The only court higher than the Court of Appeal is the Supreme Court. A case can reach the Supreme Court if a decision in the Court of Appeal is incorrect or has not followed the right procedure. One well-known case that was heard in the Court of Appeal was the case between the companies Apple and Samsung. Samsung had just made a new tablet which Apple claimed Samsung had copied from them. The decision in the High Court was that Samsung did in fact copy Apple's tablet. Samsung were not happy with this decision so decided to make an appeal in the Court of Appeal. Finally, the court decided that Samsung didn't copy Apple. Another case heard in the Court of Appeal was the Jaffa cake case. This was to see if the Jaffa cake was a cake or a biscuit. Everybody wanted it to be a biscuit because if it was a cake they would have to pay taxes for it. If it was a biscuit they wouldn't. In the end, it was decided that it was a biscuit.

On our trip we acted out a criminal case. This case involved a ten year old boy from the Victorian times. He had been accused of burglary. On one side of the argument was the prosecution. The prosecution presents an argument to prove that the defendant is guilty. On the other side of the argument was the defence. The defence presents an argument to prove that the defendant is innocent. Each side calls witnesses to give evidence in court to help their side of the argument. After all the evidence is given, the jury has to give a verdict, which means they decide if the defendant is guilty or innocent. In our case, the jury’s verdict was that the defendant was guilty. What probably decided it was that the defendant hesitated on one of the prosecution’s questions and said two conflicting things at once. After a verdict is reached, the judge decides what the punishment will be. The judge decided that the punishment would be a year in prison. HOW NASTY!

My part in the case was Mr Grey and I really enjoyed it. I was the victim and a witness helping the prosecution. The trip was an amazing experience and I hope that I come back soon.