Pair of barristers from Gray’s Inn win mock trial
A pair of British law students squared off against a pair of USC law students in a hypothetical appellate court argument in Columbia Wednesday night.
The moot, or practice debate, featured student barristers Tim Killen and Erinna Foley-Fisher from London’s Gray’s Inn and English High Court Judge Sir Peter Coulson.
In the English legal system, instead of attending a traditional law school, an aspiring lawyer must become a member of and be trained by one of the four London ends of court, which include Gray’s Inn.
Every May, law school professor Martin McWilliams takes around 35 students from USC’s law school to Gray’s Inn to study for three weeks.
“Gray’s Inn is right at the heart of the English justice system because all of the barristers, all of the judges are members of the Inn,” McWilliams said. “The hypothetical situation that was argued surrounded the circumstances in which the witness in a criminal case can remain anonymous. In the
United States, it’s a constitutional right to be able to face witnesses, watch them testify and cross-examine them. England operates the same way.
“Under very unusual circumstances, where perhaps the witness’s life might be put in danger, it’s possible to let the witness be anonymous,” McWilliams said. “And that’s the issue that was mooted this evening.”
Both sides presented their arguments to a panel of judges consisting of South Carolina Chief Justice Jean Toal, Justice Coulson and U.S. District Judge Joseph Anderson.
USC’s team, consisting of third-year law students Josh Thomas and Carmel Matin, had to prove that the original ruling by the court to grant the witness anonymity was the wrong choice.
The British team had the opposing view.
“Basically, it’s a balancing act between the right for the defendant to face his accuser and for a witness to not be intimidated by a violent offender,” Killen said.
After about an hour of debate, the panel decided to side with the team from Gray’s Inn and dismiss the appeal, stating that the anonymity was granted correctly.
“I think it’s a wonderful chance for our students and the English law students to compare the different styles of their countries and get to know a little bit about how each of them is trained and educated,” said law school dean Robert Wilcox. “So the reality is that they’re going to be practicing in a world where they’re going to have to know each other’s customs and this is a good opportunity for that.”