Attending Hereford Crown Court

I was invited to attend Court by His Honour Judge Daniel Pearce-Higgins QC when he was hearing a sexual assault case.  I sat in on the second morning of the trial, which was held in the Number 1 Court in the Hereford Shirehall, a Grade II* Listed building by Robert Smirke.

Daniel briefed me on the case and how it would be conducted, with a young witness/victim speaking via a CCTV link.  When the hearing stopped for lunch, I had the chance also to meet the prosecuting and defending barristers.

It was very good to see English justice at work first-hand and to understand the issues involved, something High Sheriffs were more involved with in earlier times.

James Hervey-Bathurst