Court Reporting

While any local journalist should be good at shorthand and have a good understanding of media law, this is even more important for court reporters.

But however prepared you are and however much you know the law, not being used to the jargon and procedures can mean you feel like a fish out of water. Of all the specialisms, court reporting is perhaps the one that people find most difficult at first.

Paul Cassell, court reporter for the Reading Evening Post, describes his first experiences of court reporting as “bewildering”. But the good news is that if you persevere then it is likely to get much easier.

You cannot do much worse than a friend I went to court with as part of our pre-entry course at college. We sat in the public gallery and for some reason he assumed it was a sound-proof booth and started stamping his feet for a joke. The judge had to stop the case and tell him to be quiet. Now he spends half his time covering courts for a local paper, so there is hope for us all.

Making the Right Contacts

The clerk of the court is the most important person to develop a relationship with, so make sure you remember their name and ask how they are. While some are more approachable than others, it is always worth making the effort.

If they are on your side, they can give you information about upcoming cases, tell you when a case is about to start and can also help you with getting the spelling of defendants' names right. Some of them will even give you a copy of the indictment for you to copy down before the case starts, which can give you a head start.

It is also worth talking to the barristers as the same barristers tend to crop up again and again. How responsive they will be will vary, but the good ones can be useful for giving you the spellings of names and confirming the time a case is likely to start.

Making Legal Applications

While it can be nerve-wracking to do for the first time, journalists can make applications to the court. All you do is write your application and the reason for it (usually based on McNae’s) on a piece of paper and hand it to the clerk, asking them to pass it on to the judge or magistrate.

Paul Cassell has tried it twice, and has been successful once. It was during a case about a 17-year-old who was being tried over a joyriding incident that had led to the death of a friend. Paul applied to lift anonymity, based on the fact the defendant would be turning 18 the following week. The judge asked the 17-year-old if he objected to this and, to Paul’s surprise, he said that he did not mind.

Another example of a successful application to court is the Somerset County Gazette successfully persuading a judge to let them name a teenager who had delivered a fatal punch to a man in an unprovoked attack.

Being able to identify someone will always make the story stronger and it is often worth making an application even if you do not think there is much chance of it being successful.

Paul takes the attitude that he assumes it will be turned down and anything else is an unexpected bonus. And even if it is turned down, making the application is good experience.

Pictures of the Defendant 

It is often worth bringing a photographer with you to get a picture of the defendant. If they are released on bail you can send a text to the photographer, who is waiting outside that the person is one their way and what they look like. Concentrate on what the person is wearing, as this is often easier to identify than describing someone’s face.

If the defendant is likely to be remanded in custody, you will have to try to get their picture before they go in and this can be difficult if you do not know what they look like. You end up taking pictures of everyone entering the court who might match their description, which can be long-winded but is worth doing if it is the difference between getting the picture and not.

It is also worth checking with the police for pictures. Thames Valley Police, for example, have a policy of releasing photos of people with sentences of over three years.

Following Longer Cases

Many cases go on for a number of weeks. This will usually be made clear at the start of the case, and the decision on how often you attend is purely one of news value. “We are not obliged to attend every day,” said Paul. “I have always taken the approach that if I am personally interested in what will be going on then it will probably be interesting enough to write about.”

For most cases that go on for some time, it will be worth dipping in and out. There have been some complaints to the Press Complaints Commission about newspapers that have highlighted the prosecution case but devoted little space to the defence of acquittal but the PCC has never found that a case has been of sufficient gravity to investigate it.

It is important to listen carefully at the end of the day when they discuss what is likely to be looked at the following day, as you will use this information to decide whether it is worth coming. Bear in mind that even if court case is not of great news value, you should try to cover the result of it, especially if the defendant is found not guilty. If they are subsequently acquitted, it is only fair this is reported.

Also, when you are covering an ongoing case you should never forget to put "case continues" at the bottom of the article to show the reader that this is not the whole story.

Speaking to Families

Going to court can be a good chance to speak to the family of the victim, which can give a human interest element to your story once the case is over. It is also a good opportunity to get some photographs of the victim to illustrate your story.

For Paul Cassell, the best way to approach them is through the police family iaison officer but if this is not possible then you can always approach the family directly.

Putting Your Name on Stories

With court reporting, there is always someone who is going to be unhappy with your report and some papers do not put by-lines on court reports to help protect journalists. I knew one journalist who repeatedly got threatening letters from a prisoner, just because he happened to be covering court that day.

But this is the exception and generally safety is not a problem for court reporters. Paul has always had his by-line on court stories at the Reading Evening Post and he has never had anything more than a few unhappy phone calls.