A report in The Times (May 26) suggested that delays in court cases could be improved if magistrates and judges were to introduce greater discipline. My personal experience seems to confirm this.
Several years ago I was summoned as witness in a court case and I was ordered to be in court at 9 a.m. As I was walking down Republic Street on my way to court, I bumped into an old friend of mine whom I had not seen for 30 years or more. After we greeted each other warmly, he invited me for a drink but I had to decline as it was only a few minutes before I had to be in court. I was in court at 9 a.m. sharp.
The corridor leading to the hall where I was meant to testify was crowded and there was nowhere to sit. It was summertime and the jacket and tie – of which I am never too fond, let alone in summer – soon started to make for a stifling experience. I wished I could have something cool to drink but that luxury was nowhere to be found.
At one point, I needed to visit the toilet but I did not dare move lest I be called to the witness stand while there. So I just had to do my best to keep nature in abeyance.
At about 1.45 p.m. I heard my name being wearily called out three times, very much like one hears offers being called out at a cattle auction. I walked into the courtroom, I was asked three, maybe four, questions, which I duly answered, and I was out of there before 2 p.m. I had been kept waiting for almost five hours just to answer three or four questions, an exercise that took under 15 minutes!
On another occasion I was summoned to appear in court at 10.15 a.m. but, this time round, I could not find the hall. After vainly roaming about the court corridors, I approached a seasoned lawyer and asked for directions, which were promptly given. It was already 10.20 a.m. when I put my face against the vision panel on the door of the hall where I was meant to appear and I immediately caught sight of the earnest glance of the usher. He hastily let me in and motioned me to the witness stand while the court embarrassingly waited on me with stoic patience.
As soon as I made it to the witness stand I apologised to the judge for the delay but he glanced at his watch and said something to the effect that in the course of doing its duty the court was compelled to take an appreciable amount of my time and that it should require no apologies if in the course of the same process I took five minutes of the court’s time. I have no doubt that things would improve enormously in court if judges and magistrates could muster a similar level of consideration towards all.