This is a way to conduct an appeal. An appeal is a request to a higher court to rehear and review the court below’s decision (‘the original decision’). An appeal can happen from the subordinate courts, comprised of the magistrates and sessions courts, to the High Court (Scenario 1), or from the High Court to the Court of Appeal (Scenario 2). For civil matters, there is only one right of appeal. If a litigant wants …
From the beginning of my practice, whenever I prepared for a trial, which meant the examination of witnesses, I wrote down all my questions beforehand. Whether it was an examination-in-chief or a cross-examination, I wrote down every question for every permutation of answers I anticipated from a witness. Preparing questions for examination is a feat of imagination which requires creativity, empathy and anticipation. I like preparing early to allow opportunities for new or better ideas …
It was a High Court court-assigned counsel case. My client and another were charged with the murder of a man. Although according to the prosecution’s case, the other guy shot and killed the man, my client was also charged with the same offence of murder. He was charged with having a common intention for the man to be murdered. That meant, even though he did not pull the trigger himself he can be charged with …
We had a client with a tortious claim for negligence against a government department because they messed up his marriage from which he had children. The incident had a potentially lasting adverse societal impact on all of them. He was very angry and upset about the situation. He was stoked as well because the government agency had treated him in a cowardly and callous manner. ‘I want them to pay for what they have done, …
My father’s firm once had a litigious client. She was in her late thirties or early forties when I was first acquainted with her. I was a few years into my practice. She was beautiful. She was also fiercely intelligent, aggressive and articulate. She was corporate-savvy and ran several businesses she owned. Since it was litigation, it meant my immediate boss dealt with her. And since my immediate boss dealt with her, I was on …