Journey into the unknown

'Team Veritas' from the Criminal Justice project write about their exciting journey and how the project has 'nurtured their thirst for knowledge and justice'.

Co-authored by ‘Team Veritas’ who are:

Elliott Field: mature student, currently studying part time, year 5 of six, currently working in the oil and gas industry, hoping to become a solicitor practising criminal law.

Peter Armstrong: Personal Trainer living in southeast. final year OU Law degree. Looking forward to a more mentally stimulating career as a solicitor or barrister.

Danielle Butler: studying W302 (Equity, trusts and land) in penultimate year of studies. Hoping to become a solicitor

Kate Wells: Final year law student (W302 & W360 'Justice in action'), aiming to work in International Law.

Oh, the excitement! After writing a letter to apply for a place in the Open Justice Criminal Law Clinic, and the wait to find if we'd been successful, the acceptance email arrived. The achievement at being selected was huge, a validation for passing W203 (Public law and criminal law) with flying colours, and a chance to see behind the judicial curtain.

Finally, a chance to do some proper legal work. So much theory and hypothetical scenarios, now something of meaning and value to get stuck into. Having been sworn to secrecy, the initial diary for online meetings was divulged. The meetings were for the purposes of training, introduction to the teams, vicarious trauma, and Clio (legal practice case management software). It was quite intense, several a week for the first couple of weeks. The wait for the actual case to begin was frustrating as the desire to get started was strong. We set off with no map, just the idea of there being dragons ahead and, having charted our intended path through a research plan, we later found that we did not need the map we had carefully crafted, as the planned simple journey would become an individual quest of discovery.

Like any journey into the unknown, ours began with excitement and trepidation, but no amount of watching televised Penny Dreadful’s or picking apart case law to ensure a good essay score, could prepare us for the roller coaster of emotions that were to ensue. This team, metaphorically dressed in our pith helmets and khaki vestments, duly met at the railway station of discovery after receiving our instructions from the mysterious supervising solicitor, we hustled and bustled and after several team changes united into team Veritas. Our mysterious host then introduced us to the Sage who would accompany us on our perilous journey into Pro Bono. Much like the adventure novellas and cinematic greats, our adventure became very real, very quickly and our excitement to be journeying along the banks of manslaughter and joint enterprise soon felt macabre. Unperturbed we marshalled ourselves and set off into our prospective camps and tried to decipher the codes and hints put to us in the “bundle”, a 3000-page document that held the potential key to our mission, or so we hoped.

Warriors of conscience often have crashed at key hurdles, and our team was not spared the ravages of personal circumstances and soon we were reduced in number, but nonetheless on we forged. Our Sage prepared us well, several clues contained in the bundle could be classed as upsetting, and our awareness of vicarious trauma helped to keep it away in the dark of night under canvas.

Initially lost, with only a sketchy map to guide us, we plodded down the prescribed path, but soon realised that the real world does not present itself with clear evidence and DNA. Keen not to run off on fanciful tangents in a desire to play Poirot, the group needed to form some sort of organisation to reach our destination; we would have to split up and follow different paths individually. This caused distress and excitement in different measures: unfazed we took the plunge, individually slashing through the dense foliage of interviews, phone records, CCTV and court transcripts seeking the truth. Once a week we would huddle around the radio, and wait for the static to clear, our mysterious leader and cohort, would listen to our findings and guide us, cryptically on occasion, to avoid going down routes which would only lead us to unnecessary work.

Battered with illness and time differences, we slogged on down our respective paths, and soon to our surprise the festive season was among us, and our hopes of “it’ll be over before Christmas” were dashed much like the Tommies in 1915. The break was a double-edged sword, welcome but the wait to restart was frustrating. For some our path had led to R v Jogee, and all our powers of deduction were to be needed if we were going to understand the true meaning and implications of such a case! As we progressed through the work, a picture of the case became more familiar and complete. Questions and queries start to develop. Being able to discuss these ideas with the group was a unique experience of bouncing ideas from one to another and developing theories.

Our mysterious leader beckoned from the ether on a regular basis, which helped us, as we individually beat new paths through the rapidly changing landscape of Law. Our mission clarified, we were not meant to change the world or find King Solomon’s mines; but were to make sure the clues in the bundle had been exhausted and that no stone had been left unturned. We felt a sense of joy when this realisation struck home, and we redoubled our efforts in searching out the path to El Dorado. One of our party delved into the sentencing of offenders and drew parallels that concluded our client had perhaps been incarcerated in a manifestly excessive way, other members of our party concluded that there was evidence that looked like our client had in fact withdrawn from the act in question, others questioned the validity of joint enterprise in this case.

We broke camp and started the long trudge of packing and checking our facts and equipment ready for the reckoning of the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Our journey was coming to an end.

Much like the Victorian explorers, our journey into the unknown placed the team in positions of potential danger, vicarious trauma always lurked. Our personal lives and the scores in our essays, far from being impacted by the time spent away, were enriched by the experience, enabling us to find a deeper vein of confidence for future use. It brought awareness of the fragility of human life, and the reality of the impact of societal position, and access to justice. This journey was one of self-discovery and fortitude that will last within us all forever. The effort achieved by the group was impressive and it was amazing to see aspects of the case you weren’t familiar with being dissected in detail ,and research of cases being applied. It has given us the sense of being part of something worthwhile and credible. Our first case, our first bundle, and the realisation that we cannot return to the station of embarkation our journey in Law is one that doesn't end and it will nurture our thirst for knowledge and justice, much as the sense of adventure once tasted can never be forgotten.

The Criminal Justice Clinic has enabled our team of new age explorers to experience Law from a position of safety, not quite fully saddled with the responsibility of managing a case, but in the relative comfort of our own reality. Our journey into this unknown realm was enhanced by our courageous leader and cohorts, to whom we owe a great deal of thanks for their support and guidance. The calling of time, might be a welcome relief, but for some of our intrepid adventurers, the journey has only just started, as this experience has firmly cemented our interest in lawyering.

Main image: Youth expedition in lowland primary rainforest. Sulawesi, Indonesia, Asia.CREDIT: David J Slater / NHPA / Photoshot / Universal Images Group/ Rights Managed / For Education Use Only

Centre image : Jungle explorer hacking through the jungle (gouache on paper) From Look and Learn 333 (1 June 1968). gouache on paper, English School, (20th century)CREDIT: Private Collection / Look and Learn / Bridgeman Images/Rights Managed / For Educational Use Only

Final image: A team of geologists walk into the jungle. Oxapampa, Peru. August 2008. CREDIT: Universal Image Group - Rights Managed / For Educational Use Only