DOCK BRIEF
By LARS ULRiC
APPLICATION for a Dock Brief, my Lord!" These some- what mysterious words, uttered in emphatic (albeit essen- tially respectful) tones by the warder from the dock at Quarter Sessions and Assizes, are the prelude to one of the strangest and most archaic manifestations of the English criminal law. From the cells beneath the dock comes one of the prisoners. Generally he is of a somewhat poverty-stricken appearance. The Judge leans forward and tells him that he may choose any of the barristers present in Court to defend him. The prisoner steps to the front of the dock, and spends a longer or a shorter interval examining the faces of those members of the Bar present, who preserve an attitude of dignified unconcern. Finally, a wavering finger points from the dock at someone in wig and gown, who rises from his seat and bows obsequiously to the Judge.
What is the meaning and origin of this unique procedure? Pro- fessional etiquette has for several hundred years required that barristers can accept briefs to represent their lay clients only through the medium of the other branch of the legal profession—the solici- t tors. This, of course, involves additional expense. And in the days before any system of legal aid for poor persons existed prisoners who were not legally represented when they came to stand their trial were allowed, as an act of grace, to choose as their Counsel any member of the Bar who was present in Court when they were arraigned. And the barrister thus chosen, without the intervention of a solicitor, to receive this brief from the dock was in honour bound to defend the prisoner for the nominal sum of one pound three shillings and sixpence. Many things have changed since the time when the custom originated, including the value of £i 3s. 6d., but the Dock Brief remains—a last resort for impecunious defendants.
" Dockers," as they are generally called by the Bar, are of some- what mixed popularity. Barristers with a busy practice tend to regard them as an unmitigated nuisance. For etiquette requires that no barrister who is selected shall refuse the brief, and for a busy Counsel to be landed with a case which may last for days and compel him to give up lucrative cases elsewhere is little short of a calamity. Such cases have been known to last four or five days, but the inclusive fee remains the same. One-three-six for five days' work! Considerably less than trade-union rates for any other job. For the very junior barrister, however, or the barrister who, alas, though no longer young in his profession, has not suc- ceeded in getting a practice, the Dock Brief is often welcome. It provides an opportunity to be seen and heard conducting a case, and may encourage solicitors to send work. And many are the stories told of famous K.C.s whose career at the Criminal Bar wal started by the brilliant conduct of a Dock Brief. The financial aspect of the matter, though less important, is not entirely negligible. On a lucky day a barrister may receive three or four Dock Briefs, and if he can induce his clients to plead guilty, so that his task will consist only of making a short speech in mitigation, he may get away by lunch-time.
As a result of the natural divergence in viewpoint between those to whom a Docker is still welcome, and those to whom it is a thing to be avoided at all costs, the announcement by the warder that a prisoner wishes to make an application for a Dock Brief is usually followed by the rapid exit of the busier barristers, whilst those who are not so busy remain seated. On one occasion an eminent Counsel departed with such speed that, tripping over the feet of one of his less fortunate colleagues, he pitched headlong to the floor of the Court. This is the sort of thing which makes people say that the institution is undignified and should be discon- tinued. In some Sessions a kindly disposed usher warns the youngest members of the Bar before such applications are made, and there- upon they may be seen to make their way, not too obtrusively, into Court to take up positions as near to the dock as possible.
A Dock Brief may relate to almost any charge known to the law except murder and a few other very serious offences, in which cases legal aid is automatically provided under the provisions of the Poor Prisoners' Defence Act. In other cases the tendency of the Courts is to refuse legal aid unless there appears to be a clear defence. And for poor persons who find themselves defenceless at their trial the Dock Brief is a last resort. As a result, Dock Briefs usually have one peculiarity in common ; they are " dead cases," i.e., they are cases in which the evidence for the prosecution is overwhelming. There is another factor which makes these cases difficult to con- duct. The time for their preparation is often extremely short, and the unfortunate defending barrister has often to conduct his case a few minutes after being selected. In such circumstances he must depend upon a probably garbled account of what the case is about from his client, and a rapid glance through the prosecuting Coun- sel's copy of the notes of evidence. A Judge has even been known to insist upon a case being tried immediately after Counsel has been selected, with the words, " You can pick up the facts as we go along, Mr. So-and-So! " Such lack of concern for the unfortunate defending barrister, not to mention his client, is rare ; but it is not unusual for a Judge to adjourn such a case for a quarter of an hour, and at the end of that time to send peremptory messages to some trembling tyro trying to extract a coherent account of his case from a prisoner in the cells.
The least pleasant moment of all for the defending barrister is probably when he has to remind his client that there is a little matter of one-three-six to be attended to. For some reason, etiquette requires that this " Dock Fee " must be taken from the prisoner before the case begins. Once when a barrister who had been in- structed from the dock returned to his chambers and unravelled the grubby note which had been given to him in payment he dis- covered that it was only half a pound note. The prisoner had presumably reserved the other half for use in some future mis- fortune!
The whole system of Dock Briefs is inconvenient and archaic, but it does at least ensure that no prisoner who can lay his hand on the sum of twenty-three and sixpence (or whose friends can do so) shall be left defenceless at his trial. And for that reason, so long as the allocation of Counsel for poor prisoners under the Poor Prisoners' Defence Act remains a matter of discretion for the Court, the Dock Brief is a valuable safeguard against injustice. The majority of barristers aver that it is humiliating to have to sit like a collection of prize cows under the critical scrutiny of some hardened felon, but most of those who practise in the Criminal Courts would confess to a secret affection for the ancient tradition. For the Dock Brief gave many of them their first opportunity of uttering that solemn-sounding incantation with which every speech for the defence begins: " May it please your Lordship, members of the Jury .. ."
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