Judicial perceptions of criminal advocacy

This six-month study, completed in November 2017, was funded by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board to explore judicial perceptions of the quality of criminal advocacy. We conducted in-depth interviews with 46 circuit judges and four High Court judges - broadly reflecting the demographic and professional profile of circuit judges in England and Wales. These sought to draw out how judges define good criminal advocacy and how often they think they see good practice in their courts. The interviews also focused on judges’ assessment of the key factors affecting the quality of advocacy and how advocacy could be improved, for example through input by the judiciary or the regulators. Findings are detailed in full here  

This project was completed in April 2018.