A Day in the Life of a Prosecutor
A day in the life of Adrian Hollamby, Senior Crown Prosecutor, Crown Prosecution Service Lancashire
I am a Prosecutor and currently work on the South West Lancashire Combined Unit which deals with the prosecution of cases at the Magistrates Courts in Ormskirk, Chorley and South Ribble.
I have a varied case load from minor to very serious cases, some of which are dealt with in the Preston Crown Court. I spend some days working at a Police stations reading and reviewing cases brought to me by the Police in order to decide if someone will be charged with an offence and what that offence should be.
7am - My day starts differently depending what I am doing that day and which Court I am prosecuting. For example when I’m on the rota for Ormskirk Magistrate’s Court I would usually leave the house at about ...
7.15am - This court is the furthest from where I live on the Fylde Coast so it’s a fairly early start to beat the school run. I need to complete my file preparation at Court by reading the files presented to me that morning for people have been arrested over night and there is a need to hold them in custody. There are different types of Court some dealing with lots of cases and some with only one or two.
9 am - If I am based at a Police station I would have logged onto the CPS computer network at the station so I can be ready for police officers coming into see me to discuss their cases. One day last week I had a particularly interesting case which involved a serious assault by four men on two police officers, one a female sergeant who had been punched, kicked and bitten. The case had elicited media interest and a member of the press attended court to report on it.
10am - When I am at Court, I sometimes deal a trial, this means I become really familiar with that one case. I introduce myself to the witnesses and ask if they need to they refresh their memory by re-reading their original statement. I then go into court to prosecute, and ask particular questions which usually include the cross examination of the person accused.
1pm - I get time to grab a quick sandwich!
2pm - In the afternoon it can be more of the same or I return to my office in Preston to do deal with casework there. We have lots of decisions to make about what evidence we call in Court to prove a matter and whether we disclose information to the Defence in accordance with the law
5pm - I drive home listening to the radio which at the moment includes all the economic doom and gloom or I’ll change it to a music station to lighten my mood.
7pm - After a day of sitting down I usually go to the gym for some exercise .Later in the evening I have my evening meal with a glass of red wine.
And to bed ready for another day………