Courts

Yesterday, I tagged along with Karen, the justice reporter, and observed the South African High Court. I haven’t quite figured out which tier of American courts it would correspond to, but the proceedings I saw were for events that occurred 2-5 years ago.

Right away, I figured out I won’t be doing any actual court reporting myself here. Lawyers and judges slip effortlessly between English and Afrikaans, and while some clearly have a preference for English, judges will address a lawyer in whichever language the lawyer started in. I only managed to understand about half of any one proceeding. At best. Karen was kind enough to translate the big picture for me, and court reporters from different papers frequently share information and contacts, but it’s a huge stretch to think I’d be able to find someone to translate 75% of a case for me over coffee. Still, it was interesting to see how things work. I’m finding that a lot of things in Cape Town are very similar to things in the States, but with enough differences to catch you off guard just when you start feeling comfortable.

For example, there is no jury system in the South African courts. Judges are vested with the power to render verdicts, the logic being that they take oaths of objectivity, recuse themselves when they cannot be objective, and have a good 30 years of experience in the courts as lawyers and lower magistrates before they’re put such a position of trust. And even then, it’s still difficult to become a judge. In particularly complex cases, a second judge may sit in as assessor, someone to assist and bounce ideas off. Verdicts can still take days, though.

Also, lawyers in the high court wear formal robes, as do court stenographers and other aides. It’s pretty formal. I did like that when entering late, people bow slightly to the judge before finding a seat. There are so many instances like that where I wish I could apologize but it would be even worse if I did.

I may go into more depth on the justice system here if I ever dig up a copy of the South African Constitution, which is pretty amazing in theory but, so far, imperfectly executed.