A series of documentary programmes dealing with the work of Juvenile Courts, Magistrates' Courts, and the Assizes, by Duncan Ross.
In the Juvenile Court and Magistrates' Court both the decision as to whether the prosecution had 'beyond all reasonable doubt' proved its case and, if it had, the subsequent sentence rested with the Bench. Tonight's reconstruction of the Assize Court shows how these responsibilities are borne by Judge and Jury.
Many persons charged with crimes in the Magistrates' Court may elect to go to 'the Court above' or, if their crime is very serious, they may be sent there. Tonight's programme, the third and last of the series, shows some of these cases and includes one - unsensational but all too common in the Assize Courts of England - robbery with violence that resulted in murder.