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Barristers complain that BBC drama puts them in dock
Amar Singh3 Jul 2008
A war of words has erupted between the writer of the BBC's latest drama and the head of the Bar Council over the programme's portrayal of barristers.
Criminal Justice, a primetime fivepart series running all this week, is billed as a "rollercoaster ride through the criminal justice system" has attracted nearly five million viewers each evening.
But Timothy Dutton QC has objected to the depiction of his fellow barristers as devious, overly aggressive and unethical. The second episode triggered an exchange of views on the letters page of The Guardian between Mr Dutton and the writer Peter Moffat, who is also a trained criminal barrister.
Mr Dutton particularly took offence to an incident in Tuesday night's episode in which a QC played by Lindsay Duncan prompts her client to provide a false defence to a court - a breach of professional conduct that would often lead to the barrister being struck off. In his opening salvo, Mr Dutton wrote: "The serial is not the basis upon which one can draw any sound conclusions about our system of justice.
"Publicly funded criminal defence practitioners continue to serve the public in the most difficult circumstances. Even though the system is chronically underfunded, they act to the highest standards. Counsel's first duty is to the court and to the interests of justice.
Criminal justice is not a game and it is a travesty to suggest practitioners see it in that way."
But Moffat, a veteran writer of legal dramas including Kavanagh QC and Crown Court, disagreed. Writing today, he said: "Timothy Dutton ... seeks to reassure us that defence practitioners act to the highest standards.
"Does this include the barrister disciplined recently for punching his opponent in court? Or the defence practitioner who sent documentary 'evidence' (in fact invented and drafted by himself) from an internet cafe in Oxford Street to his opponent? It is about time the Bar faced the fact that like every other profession it has brilliant and fair-minded practitioners, those of average ability and the violent, dishonest and stupid working within it."
The series is about a young man, played by Ben Wishaw, charged with murder after waking to find that a woman he has just slept with has been stabbed to death.
Reader views (1)
I have thoroughly enjoyed this series and I can tell you from bitter personal experience
that yes this is very realistic and yes the prison scenes are accurate.
Several years ago it was my misfortune to be dating a lunatic from Coventry and although in my case, my supposed offence was not nearly as serious as the one portrayed here, I felt chilled to the marrow to be watching it.
My heart went out to the character of "Ben Coulter", which was a sterling performance.
Trust me this was very very accurate. I complained about the treatment that I received and the way my case was investigated, to the IPCC - This resulted in me being remanded. Even when I got out they stil wanted to pursue my complaint. The Police are not whiter than white and the IPCC is a biased "Lame Duck", run by the Police for the Police.
As for lawyers and barristers, they were not interested at all in the truth, just the best story thats all. Fortunately I never went to a jury trial. I wish I had now, they would have laughed the case out of court !!
Brilliant production - please lets have more from the superb Peter Moffatt
- John Wheatcroft, Warks, UK, 07/07/2008 22:35
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