I must say that this plays very well as a drama but does stretch dramatic licence to an extreme degree. But being a practising criminal barrister I would, if you may, like to make the following two pertinent points. 1. Accused persons rarely defend themselves, and if they do it is in the lower courts. For an accused person to defend themselves on a murder charge is unheard of. Furthermore, an accused persons representing themselves would be required to remain in the dock not wandering around the well of the court like we see in this drama. 2. The suggestion that an accused person would make a closing speech amounting to four hours is preposterous. It is only the rarest of rare occasions that fully qualified barrister barristers touch this time-frame. I really to hope that impressionable viewers do not leave this in the belief that this is how our hours operate up and down the land on a daily basis. For that I recommend 'The Secret Barrister'. Have a good day. |