Screening For Court Witnesses At Inquests Or Trials

The High Court recently ruled “it is highly undesirable to exclude family members from the hearing room, and should not be done unless it is absolutely necessary”. This judgment arose from the application for the judicial review of a coroner's decision regarding screening of witnesses giving evidence in an inquest (The Queen (on the application of) Claudia Hicks and Others and the Senior Coroner for Inner North London and Others (Defendants)[2016]EWHC 1726 ( Admin)).

Threats were made via social media to the lives and safety of the police officer witnesses involved in a car chase which resulted in the death of Henry Hicks. There were concerns that, if the family members were to see the witnesses, then they would pass on descriptions of them to others who might seek to harm them.

Due to the limited space and facilities in the St Pancras Coroner's Court, arrangements were put in place to relay the proceedings by live audio feed to an overflow room in a building nearby, where the family would be present. They would be excluded from the principal court room whilst the four officers were giving evidence.

However, the High Court ruled it was appropriate for the witnesses to be screened from the family and arranged for the inquest to take place in the Royal Courts of Justice, meaning the witnesses could be screened but still give evidence in the same room as the family.

The protection of any vulnerable witnesses should always be considered, both when discussing with the coroner who should give evidence and in subsequent arrangements for their appearance in court. Browne Jacobson has successfully obtained court orders to allow witnesses to give evidence from behind screens and also on an anonymous basis.

Rule 18 Coroners (Inquests) Rules 2013 (Evidence Given from Behind a Screen) states that the coroner, when contemplating such a direction, must consider all the circumstances arising, in particular:

any views expressed by the witness or any interested person whether it would be in the interests of justice or national security whether it would impede the effectiveness of the questioning of the witness by an interested person or their representatives. If a witness is to be screened, then this must be balanced against...