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A friend in court

01 January 1991

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A friend in court
artdoc June=1991

What has become of the `McKenzie', the friend, legally qualified or not,
accompanying a defendant in a criminal trial? The High Court said last
December that the right to be accompanied by such a person never existed.
The use of McKenzies was celebrated in some well-known cases, including
that of the Bradford 12, in 1982, which put self-defence against racist
attack on the map for Asian communities. It meant that a defendant could
represent themselves, but have the advantage of advice and assistance
during the trial. In the poll tax cases in magistrates' courts, many
defendants were prevented from exercising their right to a `friend' by
magistrates' clerks, who said they were obstructive and time-wasting. The
High Court has legitimised the practice of clerks by deciding that there
was never a right to have a friend in court, but only a discretion which
a judge or magistrate could refuse to allow. The issues are discussed in
Socialist Lawyer, Issue 13, Spring 1991, ppl8-19, and in Legal Action,
March 1991, p7.

Statewatch no 2, May/June 1991

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