| ONE thing that often amazes me about court reporting is the amount of humour on show.
OK, I know Britain is a witty place to live in where banter and jokes play a key part in daily life…but surely court would be exempt from such niceties. The first time I noticed such joviality was this summer when I covered the Gary Hardy drugs trial. Throughout the case members of the jury, the lawyers, the judge and even various defendants including Gary Hardy himself would break out in chuckles. On one memorable occasion the whole court roared in laughter as a witness with a good sense of humour moved away from giving evidence into a near comedy routine, until he was halted in his tracks by the smirking judge who realised the seriousness of the court setting. On a daily basis I was always left suprised at the happy nature of Gary Hardy, who regularly laughed and joked with security staff guarding him in the dock, despite the seriousness of the charges he faced. Well I know if that had been me I’d have gone into a shell of self-pity and refused to talk to anyone. And yet again the presence of court humour became apparent during the closing stages of the Peter Smith murder trial this week. Whilst in full swing of summing up the evidence, Judge His Honour Stephen Kramer QC momentarily lost his trail of thought and also his notes much to the amusement of the jury and lawyers. Earlier the judge and prosecutor Peter Joyce QC were both struck down by prolonged coughing fits to the general titters of all in the court room. It doesn’t take much to make us laugh. Yes, Britain really is a funny old place to live in. |
