Judge Rinder’s Crime stories
Judge Rinder on why real police investigations and courtrooms are very different from what we see on the box
Mon-fri / itv
I’ll never watch Sherlock in the same way again after we talked to Robert ‘Judge’ Rinder about how real-life crime differs from TV dramas – although I can’t believe Robert doesn’t bring a little drama to his courtroom. See
NEW documentary Judge Rinder’s Crime Stories mon-fri / itv / 2.00pm
Legal and crime dramas are very popular, but how well do they portray our justice system? Few people are better placed to weigh the evidence for and against than Robert ‘Judge’ Rinder. As well as being a criminal barrister, Robert presides over civil cases in popular courtroom show Judge Rinder and, this week, returns with a new series of Judge Rinder’s Crime Stories, which delves into real-life criminal cases. Episode one includes the first TV interview with Michael Philpott, whose father Mick was found guilty of the manslaughter of six of his younger children in a fire in 2012.
Here, 2016 Strictly star Rob, 39, reveals six ways TV gives a false picture of the law… Ian Macewan
1 Real trials can be very dull
‘However, TV shows have a short time in which to tell a dramatic story, so there are moments when you watch a legal drama and think, “This is totally bonkers!” I’ve watched episodes of Judge John Deed and The Good Wife, where the rules of evidence or ethics have gone out the window. It doesn’t mean it’s not entertaining – it’s just barking mad!’
2 Forensic teams don’t try to crack the case
‘The critical role of forensic teams is that they have to be independent, so that they can apply their minds
fairly. If they start to become
involved in the investigation, like they do in Silent Witness, then very quickly their minds become pretty closed.’
3 Criminal barristers don’t ‘showboat’
‘What we barristers are trying to do is persuade the jury with facts. That doesn’t mean that sometimes you can’t have really powerful moments – I’ve been involved in lots of cases where that has happened.’
4 . Police work is mundane
‘An incident room on a murder case involves an enormous number of man hours and a huge number of personnel. One small slip-up could mean the evidence is not admissible in court, so everything has to be conducted with military precision. It’s a world away from the likes of Poirot – how would any of his statements be admissible in court?!’
5 Crime is not a game of Cluedo
‘There’s a lot of television drama in which we see Sherlock Holmes-like investigations [Robert is a close friend of Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch] and, at the other end of the scale, Miss Marplestyle cases. They are all about the investigation and the killer, and that’s the end of it. But true crime is much more gritty, and has a far more profound and lasting
impact.’
6 Trials don’t happen soon after the crime
‘TV massively distorts the reality, which is that most trials happen a minimum of six months after the events have taken place. All the rules that have to be applied ahead of a trial take a long time, not to mention the fact that courts are overloaded with cases, so there’s always going to be a waiting period.’
Judge Rinder’s Crime stories
Is PREVIEWED on pages 52-53