[Lilly]

Originally Posted by BERNADETTE

After reading your story I would try my best to avoid it though I know you can't just refuse to attend. Hope things look up a bit next week. Reading between the lines it sounds as if the accused are acting on advice from their counsel and changing their plea at the last minute.

You're right, Bernadette. You can't just refuse to attend without very good reason. You can defer if you are called up and you will be on holiday that week but then they will just send for you later on in the year.

Re the guilty pleas, it appears that barristers do everything possible to get defendants to plead guilty before the trial. This way the barristers still get their wages but have less work to do. They don't have to read through reams of evidence and go to the trouble of cross examining people.

For the defendant, pleading guilty before the trial starts rather than being found guilty by a jury gets them a lesser sentence. The barristers do all kinds of bargaining with them. Very often the barristers have a very good idea that their client will plead guilty but until the defendant has officially stood in the dock and said the word 'guilty' they cannot dismiss the people waiting in the jury room in case he suddenly changes his mind at the last minute then the case would go to trial and the jury would be needed.