From trial to sentence

Oh, now it seems they're ready here. The chairperson asks the prosecutor to tell us what the defendant is charged with. It's just one indictment: assault. Then it's the plaintiff's counsel's turn. She explains that the plaintiff is also asking for damages.

That is a form of compensation that the defendant should pay to the plaintiff, to compensate for his suffering. And now it's the defendants turn. Does he confess? No... he doesn't.

And he doesn't think he should pay compensation either. After that, the prosecutor and the attorney take turns to put their case about what happened. We say that they make their oral submissions. The prosecutor also presents some photographs from the police investigation, showing how badly beaten the plaintiff was. Those photos are evidence.

The prosecutor's oral submission, about what happened, is very different from the one made by the defence. Are they even talking about the same event? It all happened late at night, and most people who were there had been drinking. And there were no surveillance cameras catching it on video either. So it's hard to know what really happened that night.

Now it's time to listen to what the plaintiff has to say. The prosecutor, the plaintiff's counsel, the attorney, and the court's chairperson take turns to ask the plaintiff questions. It's time for the interrogation. Often, the prosecutor asks the plaintiff to state, in his own words, what happened. Are you sure about what you saw?

How did that make you feel? Had you been drinking? Then what happened? When all four have asked their questions, it's the defendant's turn to be interrogated. He gets to tell his version of what happened, and then answer questions, one by one from the prosecutor, the plaintiff's counsel, the attorney, and the chairperson.

Still, it might be quite hard for the judges to know whom they ought to believe. But there was actually one more person at the scene, who saw what happened: who became a witness. And now, it's time to call the witness. First, the witness has to promise to tell the truth. She takes an oath.

The chairperson reads the oath, and the witness repeats it. If a witness is lying, after having promised to tell the truth, they are committing a crime. The crime of failing to tell the truth under oath is called perjury. Now the prosecutor asks his questions to the witness, followed by the attorney. The witness is only in the courtroom while being questioned.

She can't hear what's said before she enters, so that she won't be influenced by what the other people say happened. Now the witness interrogation is over, and the witness can leave. But we're not quite done yet. First, the chairperson reads to the court what the court knows about the defendant's background: has he for example, committed any crimes before? The defendant also gets to declare his personal financial state.

This matters in cases when the court wants to impose a fine: an amount to be paid, set in relationship to the person's income. Now it's almost over. But first the prosecutor and the attorney will make their closing arguments. They both summarise their version of what happened, refer to what has been said and shown in the proceedings, and state what they believe is the right decision for the court to make. The prosecutor thinks that the interrogations, the witness, and the evidence, together show that what the plaintiff says is true; suggesting that the court should sentence the defendant to jail, he urges a prison sentence.

The attorney on the other hand, refers to parts of the interrogations where both the plaintiff and the witness have been unclear about their memories. She thinks that it's the defendant's account of what happened that is the most trustworthy. The attorney urges that the defendant should be acquitted. That's all. Now everyone except the judges and the law clerk leaves the room.

Because now, the court is to deliberate.