We must avoid televised court proceedings turning into Punch and Judy courtrooms

We must avoid televised court proceedings turning into Punch and Judy courtrooms

We must avoid televised court proceedings turning into Punch and Judy courtrooms 1200 800 Sean Cullen

There is almost a mystique in terms of the UK court system and that is because of a public mistrust of the legal system and the way it works. Judges can be seen as out of touch with modern Britain and an expansion of TV cameras in courtrooms will certainly be a step in improving transparency in the system.

This is a baby steps approach to opening the system to public view away from criticism of it being inaccessible and the cuts to legal funding.  This is a sensible way of opening the system to the public and showing it that the UK is still pretty much top of the tree with a legal system that is world renowned.

However, we must be mindful of the impact of the 24-hr news cycle and the influence of social media.  ‘Punch and Judy’ politics dominates headlines with Starmer and Sunak at each week’s PMQs fighting to get that one snapshot or sound bite that will get shared thousands of times online.

We need to be careful of how many high-profile cases are broadcast and mindful of how that will affect the administration of justice and how cases are televised will be key. How will live streaming and TV cameras affect defendant and witness testimony, and how will it affect the arguments barristers choose to use?

The court of public opinion was in full session over the Johnny Depp, Amber Heard trial in the US and in these large civil cases, the impact the judgement has, and mitigating that potential impact, may become more important for the involved parties than the case itself.

Getting your legal message across to the media in a digestible manner is already important, but with this new set of eyes, it will be evermore vital.