There is much about the court process that victims, witnesses and defendants alike find difficult. Appearing in court can be terrifying, humiliating, frustrating, or any combination of these. Various aspects of the experience can also be hard to understand. Cross-examination poses particular challenges for victims and witnesses, many of whom find it deeply troubling that they are seemingly ‘not believed’. Those defendants who are habitual attendees in court, in contrast, frequently adopt a resigned or even entirely passive stance towards proceedings. But what characterises the response of the vast majority of lay participants is a reluctant conformity: they comply with the expectations and social rules of the process, and rarely do they actively disrupt it – notwithstanding the extreme circumstances and hostilities that are at the heart of most court cases.

In this chapter, we will consider some of the most problematic aspects of attending court for court users – and, particularly, the anxieties experienced, the inconveniences, the pressures of cross-examination, and difficulties of understanding – before going on to demonstrate that almost all court users, nevertheless, ‘follow the rules’ of the courtroom and judicial process.

The anxieties, uncertainty and inconveniences of appearing at court

Anxiety

Almost without exception, the victims and witnesses we interviewed were nervous about the prospect of going to court. For some, their court attendance was linked to a particularly difficult or traumatic event in their lives. But they were also anxious because the court was an unknown environment and their expectations were often formed with reference to court-based dramas on television and film rather than any direct experiences of the Crown Court. (Five of the victims and witnesses had had prior experience of the Crown Court as a defendant or witness.) In describing how they felt about going to court, “worried”, being “a nervous wreck” or “feeling sick to the stomach” were among the emotions mentioned. We have shown in previous chapters how the formality and ceremony associated with the courts can be intimidating, and victims and witnesses also face the daunting prospect of public speaking in a room full of strangers. However, perhaps they worried most of all about coming face-to-face with the defendant or defendant's supporters, and possible reprisals for giving evidence.