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UK: A friend in court

01 May 1991

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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.

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