Book

Description

You have the law degree. Now you have to stand up in court. A Candidate Attorney’s Guide to Surviving Criminal Court is a practical guide for candidate attorneys and newly admitted practitioners entering the realities of South African criminal practice. Law school teaches criminal law, evidence and procedure. Court teaches something different: what to do when your matter is called, the docket has only just arrived, your client is waiting in the cells, the prosecutor wants an answer, and the magistrate expects you to know what happens next. Written by practising criminal defence attorney Wesley John Rogers, this book bridges the gap between knowing the law and applying it in court. Rather than repeating textbook definitions, it shows practitioners how to turn legal principles into courtroom decisions: preparing a matter, consulting with an accused, critically analysing a police docket, identifying evidential weaknesses, preserving the record and knowing what relief to seek at each stage. The guide covers first appearances, bail applications, taking instructions, pleas, trial preparation, examination-in-chief, cross-examination, identification evidence, confessions and admissions, hearsay, forensic and expert evidence, section 174 applications, the defence case, closing argument, sentencing, appeals, reviews and professional ethics. It also addresses what textbooks often do not: difficult prosecutors, demanding courts, incomplete instructions, unexpected evidence, client management and the judgment required to know when to object, when to cross-examine—and when to stop. The emphasis throughout is on disciplined preparation rather than theatrical advocacy. The effective criminal practitioner is not necessarily the loudest in the courtroom, but the one who is prepared, accurate and difficult to surprise. This is a working companion for the young lawyer facing the question legal education too often leaves unanswered: “I know the law. What do I actually do when I walk into court?”