USA (2)
One of the benefits of other corporate jobs is that there are often opportunities for international travel. Having become a barrister, and one practising in defamation which is uniquely defined by English and Welsh law, I accepted that such opportunities may not await me. So, when I found out about the Pegasus Scholarship, I knew I had to apply.
The first stop on our USA trip was Sacramento, California and the incredible programme put together by Justice Scotland. California brought so many highlights, including the opportunity to see appellate advocacy. I was interested to learn that in appellate courts the judges would often frontload the case and have an idea of how the case would be decided before oral arguments were heard. The emphasis on the written brief and the timed oral arguments (policed in some occasions by traffic lights) was also fascinating. While this loses some of the spontaneity and the flexibility to pursue different areas of the argument, I couldn’t help but think that, in terms of efficiency, this was a more effective system. Our California trip was incredible and thanks must go to our hosts, Parker White and Carole McCook. Not only did they let us stay in their home, but they also took us to their cabin on Lake Tahoe where we were lucky to see an enormous bear sitting just outside the window!
Our arrival in Phoenix, Arizona was thankfully precipitated by the first rainfall for months following a 113 day streak of temperatures over 37 degrees Celsius! Our first day included a tour of the various community courts in Phoenix. These included a veteran’s court, a community court dealing with homelessness, and a mental health court. I was impressed with the more empathetic approach to justice, yet I also questioned whether if, for example, there had been more investment in veterans after they left service, such courts would need to exist. Another interesting aspect of the US legal system which we were fortunate enough to watch was jury selection. I was fascinated to watch as the jurors were asked various questions by the judge and counsel before both sides could choose to strike certain jurors based on their answers. Jury selection, whilst interesting, seemed to be somewhat inefficient. Days can be spent questioning potential jurors looking for bias and partiality. The result is that many more jurors must give up their time to sit for selection, only to be sent home without having served. I must admit to preferring the English system. Phoenix was a vibrant city and, away from law, we enjoyed visiting the Desert Botanical Garden, hiking amongst the unique desert rocks, sampling Mexican food and drinking margaritas! It was also a treat to see Air Force One take off from the runway at Phoenix as we departed. Thank you to John DeStefano who kindly hosted us during this leg.
Our arrival in Washington DC began with the Supreme Court Celebration of Excellence dinner, which set the bar for a fantastic two weeks. There were so many highlights of our time spent in DC, including our meeting with the Solicitor General of the United States, Elizabeth Prelogar. Another highlight was watching a moot court at the Supreme Court Institute. Moot courts take on a greater role in the US, with legal teams frequently running their entire case as a dress rehearsal before the main event. It was amazing to see how much preparation had gone into preparing for the moot: the full legal team attended, the Bench was comprised of multiple esteemed ‘judges’ and the moot court room was made to be a replica of the Supreme Court, even down to the pattern on the carpet and the distance of the podium away from the bench. Another highlight of DC for me was speaking on a panel at the William B. Bryant Inn of Court alongside Adam Nadelhaft, a member of Amber Heard’s counsel team in the famous Johnny Depp litigation. It was exciting to hear Adam’s perspective on the case and to share with the audience the differences in our two countries’ defamation laws. Away from the law, it was, of course, an incredibly exciting time to be in DC in the build up to the election. We were able to attend the Democratic Party’s election night event at Howard University and, in a standout moment of the trip, we saw Kamala Harris speak at Howard University the next day. Thanks must go to Ellen and Tim DelSole, Jesse Binnall and everyone from Binnall Law Group who so kindly hosted us.
The final stop on our tour was to Chicago, a vibrant and exciting city. During our time there, we had a varied schedule which began with a tour of the FBI offices. Next, we paid a visit to the Circuit Court of Cook County criminal division, commonly known as ‘26 and Cal’, to observe proceedings with Judge Byrne. I was particularly interested to learn about the Grand Jury where jurors are called to serve for a month in proceedings from which the public are excluded. It was interesting to learn that the jury sits in secret to protect them from intimidation, ensuring their independence and objectivity in assessing the evidence and protecting innocent people from unfounded prosecution. Chicago was a brilliant place to visit and I must thank Peggy Herrmann, Adam Kelly and Julianne Hartzell for hosting us so well.
Finally, a big thank you to Cindy Dennis who put together this incredible programme; it exceeded all my expectations. Thank you also to my co-scholar Afiya for being so much fun. We had the trip of a lifetime!
Hannah Gilliland
5 RB