What we learnt from observing court proceedings every week in 2023.
In 2023, TJC started “This Week in Court,” a weekly series that highlighted ongoing court cases in Singapore and exposed the hardships people who get entangled with the law often face.
By observing court cases every week, we gained insights into issues involving access to justice and witnessed the impact of legal systems on individuals, families and communities.
Most cases involved significant stress and anxiety at different stages of the process, including:
Court Proceedings
People often faced difficulties raising questions or voicing concerns, especially when unrepresented. Challenges include language barriers, unfamiliarity with proceedings, a lack of accommodations for people with psychosocial disabilities, and dismissive, harsh words and tones used by some judges.
Pre-Trial Detention
People can be remanded for long periods during investigations before charges are even filed, and then while their case is being heard and decided by the courts, leading to enormous disruptions to their lives and significant negative impacts on families. Only those who are eligible for bail and able to afford it can maintain some normalcy.
Bail
Accused persons are impacted by their loved ones’ financial difficulties in paying bail, as well as finding a bailor who can show up to court during working hours for each hearing. Foreigners face additional challenges, like requiring a Singaporean bailor and not being allowed to pay bail in instalments or make overseas calls.
Pushed to Plead Guilty
Delays in getting legal aid and long stays in remand while cases drag out push some people to plead guilty out of helplessness and believing that they don’t stand a chance of fighting their case. These issues cause feelings of desperation and futility, leading them to plead guilty just so their case is over sooner.
The more we learn about the experiences of people entangled with the legal system, we become alive to how hostile, discouraging and imbalanced things can be, especially for vulnerable populations like migrants, people with disabilities, people living in poverty or isolation, or people with less literacy and education.
While a person’s legal proceedings are ongoing, there are grave ripple effects on the lives of their children, partners, parents and more, especially if they are primary caregivers or breadwinners.
Going down to observe State Court proceedings is an eye-opening experience. We encourage everyone to try it sometime, if you can. Notice who’s in the room, their skin colour, their emotions, how many people don’t have lawyers, what they plead for, how they are treated. Watch, reflect and consider for yourself if these are your imaginations of justice.
Transformative Justice Collective 