A day at Bristol Magistrates’ Court

On a recent chilly morning, a trio of guards thoroughly searched visitors’ luggage, confiscating liquids and certain electric devices, reminiscent of the duties of a border force officer.

But this is Bristol Magistrates’ Court, not an airport, and the owners of the luggage had not arrived to fly off on holiday but to plead their guilt or innocence.

Magistrates’ courts are the first port of call for most criminal court cases, hearing crimes from theft to murder and rape, with the most serious hearings progressing to Bristol Crown Court.

On this Thursday on Marlborough Street, there were proceedings in five of the 12 court rooms, plus a youth court that was closed off to outsiders.

“Court room two is probably the most interesting, as that’s all the night-time crimes,” a member of staff said with a smile.

There are 12 courtrooms in Bristol Magistrates’ Court – photo: Betty Woolerton

The intrigue and scandal of the magistrates’ court are open to anyone, with public galleries part of the architecture, but court room two still felt intimate and closed-off.

Small and windowless, the yellow celling lights casted a muggy ambience in the air conditioned room when Bristol24/7 spent a day watching justice unfold.

Though the plastic clock on the wall had gone 10am, when the first case should commence, there was not much sign of life yet.

The only hint of busyness came from the flush-faced usher, who flittered in and out of the courtroom with a stack of papers and furrowed brows.

There was confusion over a youth case, and another was not able to proceed because essential paperwork was missing.

A suited prosecutor was unsurprised at the delays. “Well, we aren’t getting much achieved. I suppose I can read some more stuff,” he said chirpily, tapping away on his laptop.

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By 11am, the tranquillity of the courtroom was interrupted by a sharp knock at the door. “All stand”, barked the usher, signalling what would become a day-long game of musical chairs.

Three magistrates appeared, two men and a woman, dressed as layman without robes or wigs.

The day’s business was finally underway at 11am with the case of Garrie Simmons, of Bishopsworth, in breach of a suspended sentence order.

The 47-year-old did not turn up to an unpaid work induction in October. He pleaded not guilty, as he said he had not received documentation of his alleged crimes.

Warning of a “real risk of going to custody today”, the magistrate offered Simmons an opportunity to consult with a duty solicitor. Simmons, pale-faced and fidgety, refused. He was remanded on bail until a hearing in March.

A 27-year-old man was next brought up from the cells, indicating guilty pleas to contacting a woman via social media despite a non-molestation order being in place.

The red-eyed Ryan Boulton, whose current address is Torrington Avenue, Knowle, wore a fur-trimmed coat and tracksuit and asked to the magistrate if he would be able to go home today. His sentence was a community order, rehabilitation activity and a fine.

The first female defendant of the day appeared in the form of a Donna Marie Stephens, aged 40 of Arnos Vale. Stephens was accused of assault and “punching the victim in the face with upper cuts” on Fishponds Road in March. Yawning, she pleaded not guilty.

Magistrates were told that, running from the scene, Stephens unwittingly flagged down a car which, in a fated turn of events, turned out to be an unmarked police vehicle.

After a quick deliberation, the magistrates decreed a compensation order: to pay £100 to the victim and £300 towards prosecution costs.

The last case before lunch was tragically gripping: a woman who failed to maintain contact with the probation service as she fled the city from domestic abuse.

Simona Dumitru, of Ruskin Road in Droylsden, was previously charged with shoplifting. Married with five children, the defence solicitor told the magistrates the the 31-year-old was the victim of domestic abuse from her husband, fleeing the relationship to live in Leicester. Romanian-born Dumitru interjected from the dock to apologise to the magistrates for her crimes.

The eyes of her language interpreter darted around the courtroom as she tried to keep up with translating a four-person conversation filled with legal jargon into Spanish.

Listening to the recommendation of the defence lawyer, the presiding magistrates chose to fine the defendant £200.

Clasping her hands together in gratitude, Dumitru was repentant as she left the dock. “Thank you very much and sorry for the inconvenience,” she said earnestly.

The commanding building of Bristol Magistrates’ Court – photo: Betty Woolerton

As the afternoon wore on, the courthouse saw more petty crime, theft and assault, problems that began to feel familiar.

There was Kyle Buffery, a 30-year-old of Polden House in Bedminster, who was accused of punching his brother and urinating in a police vehicle, and is now banned from OMG on Frog Lane.

Twenty-one-year-old Mitchell Maynard, of Ponsford Road in Knowle, pregnant girlfriend at his side, was held in the dock for threatening a police officer after getting caught fare-dodging in a taxi. He was sentenced up to 15 days rehabilitation, 80 hours unpaid work and a fine of £180.

While Bristol Magistrates’ Court may not reflect the melodramatics of a television courtroom series, it is easy to become desensitised and become blind to the suffering behind some of the cases.

Defence solicitors told magistrates that Maynard had suffered physical abuse from his stepfather, Dumitru was a victim of domestic violence and Stephens was homeless at the time of her crime.

They are injustices recognised by kindness from court room two’s usher, who says to Maynard when he nervously enters: “Go to the end love and sit down. When the magistrates come in, stand up and stay standing up.”

After a stop-start tide of cases through the afternoon, court was later adjourned, ready to do it all over again the next day.

Main photo: Betty Woolerton

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