Called to order, court staff who mistook black barrister for defendant... three times in one day
A BLACK barrister has complained she was mistaken for a defendant three times in one day by court staff.
Alexandra Wilson, whose chambers are near the Old Bailey in London, said a security guard, solicitor and court clerk all jumped to conclusions about why she was at the court, which she has not named.
The specialist in criminal and family cases said her experience on Wednesday, which she described in a series of tweets, had left her ‘completely exhausted’.
She said: ‘I felt humiliated and by the end I was almost in tears to be honest. There is no doubt more training is needed for court staff and legal professionals.’
Oxford-educated Miss Wilson, who was called to the bar in 2018, said the security guard asked for her name when she arrived at court then looked for it on a list of defendants. I explained I was a barrister. He apologised and guided me through security,’ she said.
She then met her client and tried to enter a courtroom to discuss the case with the prosecutor.
But she was stopped by another lawyer who told her she ‘needed to wait outside’ before the court called her case.
‘I explained I’m a barrister. She looked embarrassed and said, “Oh, I see,”’ added Miss Wilson.
In the courtroom she was told ‘very loudly’ by the clerk to leave and was asked if she had a solicitor.
She wrote: ‘I, again, explained that I am a defence barrister trying to speak with the prosecutor. She looked at me, said, “Oh, right, okay” and continued with what she was doing.’ A member of public also mistook the barrister, who is based at chambers 5SAH Law, for a journalist, telling her ‘only lawyers’ could enter the courtroom.
The author of In Black and White, which examines at the problems of race and class in courts, said: ‘This really isn’t OK... I don’t expect to have to constantly justify my existence at work.’ In January last year she tweeted a photo of herself in her lawyer’s robes and said: ‘I’m 24. I’m mixed race. I’m from Essex.
‘I worked hard and never listened when people when people said the bar wasn’t for people like me. This is what a barrister looks like.’
Kevin Sadler, of the Courts and Tribunal Service, apologised to Miss Wilson as her tweets went viral and attracted accusations of racism.
He said: ‘This is not the behaviour anyone should expect and certainly does not reflect our values.’ Amanda Pinto QC, chairman of the Bar Council, said the case was ‘not a one-off’ and many barristers have to ‘put up with the prejudiced assumptions of others’.
Only 9 per cent of senior barristers are from black and ethnic minority backgrounds.
‘Does not reflect our values’