Watching Law & Order, you see how prosecution works, at least on a surface level, but how is it different in the U.K.? Or is it more or less the same?
In the US, at least, it’s a legal system. Justice is frequently missing.
Generally, they’re struggling with the same issues of being severely under-staffed and under-funded to the point where they can’t really function without a “McJustice” style system. They
recently stoppedare considering ending jury trials for sentences less than 3 years.** You only get a judge. However, the UK has MUCH shorter sentences than the US (because American long sentences are outside the global norm and generally just irrational). The average length of a sentence to jail is under 2 years, so most people will never get a jury trial.Also, unlike in the US, law graduates require a “pupilage” position under someone else before they’re allowed to practice, and only about 5-10% of law grads receive them.
In the UK, magistrates, who try cases at lower courts, aren’t trained lawyers but civilian volunteers, who have trained lawyers as advisors on the technical aspects. Not sure if this is the case in the US.
That is more “something that happens” in rural areas than intentional by design. In a lot of the US, judges are elected positions. In the majority of states, non-lawyers are allowed to run, but in competitive districts it’d be difficult to win without the bar association’s recommendation.
