Old Bailey New Court.
The Times, 1824-06-04T00:00:00

Yesterday the new Court was openedfor the finrt tine. The RE- 'sOLDER presided. The form of the Court is square, and without turnlament. The light faUs down from the ceiling. Behind is a spa. cious gallery, admission to which is to be obtained only by tickets fro tneme tbs tof the Corporation, who are entitled to pass in their friends in this order :t-ach Sheriff passes 4, each Alderman 4. -ead xarl Common Councilman 2 per diem. The box for the law studcnts abd reporters is opposite to that of the jury. At the table theere i a double row of seats, thefront for the counsel, the back for 5i'U.lttorniesan arrangement frequently wished for in theold Court. .l'ut perhaps the new Court is the worst contrived Court in the rne- tropolis or any rhere else for soand, and the spot in which the pri- soner is to stand is perhaps the worst part of the Court for he.ring. Ve regret to say that the two new Courts at (Gu'ddhall, which are ncarly fnished, have been built upon the same plan, and of course must besubject to the same condemnation. Mr. Montagu is the desigr:er. -.. ON-ATTENDAETCP_ O0 couws5L. Johzn R6oert5 vas put to the bar charged with having stolen some 'Wine and a variety of othe' property of Mr. WValford, of Bayswater. The pisoner, when cale ttp, said-" Mly Lord, I can't plead now-.J have hired llr. Adolphusas mycounsel, and he is not here." The Clerk of the Arraigns told hhu that he had pleaded, and that hie nmust be tied. Some conversation here took place relative to the complaint of the yrisoncr, between the counsel who sat at the table and the RE- CORDEf.l We understood it to be stated bv a counsel, that it was probable no brief had been delivered to Mlr. Adolphus-that it was a common trick amongst the prisoners, when thersawv that counsel were Pasent, to assert that brief's had been given to themn, when in fact no counsel was eXt,ploved at all, and of course the thing was a mere manenavre to prejudice the jury. Ile was sure, fromn the cha- ro4ter of the attorneyin this cause (Mr. Harmer), that no neglect could bave taken place on his part. Theprisonerdeclared most solemnly that he had naid five gktineas wior lis defence. _o_ahRe C D l P: at once ceeded to try the prisoner, who re- ,tnatin throtugbount udefended. The cvidsnce against him was, that he was apprehended at an un- seasonable hour in the morning bv two Bow-street patrol, when he was coming in a direction leading from the prosecutor's house. Upon 'h:s persosr were found two bottles of wine and some small articles of dress. lc had also upon his person some skeleton kevs, a phos- 'Phorus bot1l, ued-a-dark lantern, of which he could give no sa- ti factory account. Next day the prosecutor, whose premises had been robbed thenight before,identified all the propertyas his, except thsewine Tbe.,prisorer'sdefence vas, that he had been engaged in a smug- gl:Dg trnsactioD, and that he had got the wine in the course of his ind',strv. The REcoImER put it to the jury, whether they cor.sidered it ikely that skeleton keys and a phosphorus bottle toutld be intended for the purposes of smuggling. Rhe mrsey immediately found the prisoner (silty. WFe ulnatertood from the tlerk- of -he prisoner's solicitor, that .he prisner had actually paid five guineas for a defence; that .Mr. Adolphus besngtneagedt at Westminster it was aseless to offer the brief to that gternabia; and that Mr. Iaw had been engaged upon the Mcaston; and that lr. Law, however,was occupied in the old Court at the time the trial was going on. In the old (,ourt there were torne instances of a similar nature; and the unfortunate pti. soners Tiare thus deprived of some chances of escape. Wbatever May be the conduct of prisoners, it is notorious that most gross ZtWect constantly is occurring upon the part of counsel. It has often been observed that after a miserable wretch has drain- ed his famtly and friends o? their lnst shilling; for the purpose of obtainiug a defence, his counsel is absent, or his briet has been banded over to some junior counsel, in whose skill and experience he may not have the same confidence. A counsel has frequently been seen arriving breathless in court at the conclusion of a c'allse, agdd he has asked a question or two merely to give him a title ta the moncy which has been procured with the greatest difi- cultp. It is the practice of the Judges to refuse to accommodate pesSoners in their applications for postponement until the arrival of Counsel, in order to show their strong disaaprebation of the custom et' holding briefs in different courts. Unless some regulations shall be made to prevent inconvenience and injustice of this kind, the New Court will certainly increase the evil. OLD BAILEY NEW COURT.