Garrow’s Law

Acorn Media UK

R1 DVD

Reviewer: Bob Estreich

In the 18th century the law was very different to what we have today. All that was necessary to have a person indited for trial was a sworn complaint in front of a magistrate. There was no Police Force yet so prosecutions were either brought by the Crown or were privately brought. It was then up to the defendant to prove in Court that they were innocent. In most cases the defence Counsel didn’t even know what all the evidence against their client was. All they had to fall back on were character witnesses. They were not even allowed to address the Jury. The Court’s decision often depended simply on how rich or influential you were. Justice was a concept that was rarely involved in the process. The Law itself was a mix of old brutal laws and modern inconsistent ones. The Judges were not above directing the Jury as to the prisoner’s guilt. The whole system desperately needed reform.

William Garrow is a young barrister who wanted to change the system and remove what he saw as injustices and inconsistency. He served his legal apprenticeship with an old lawyer named John Southouse, who continued to mentor Garrow through his early Court appearances at the Old Bailey. Garrow made extensive use of cross-examination to get at the truth of a case. This did not make him popular with the prosecutors, the judges, or the politicians who did not want the system changed. It must be remembered that at this time punishment included branding, hanging, or transportation to New South Wales. Many people in the upper class thought that killing off or exporting their criminals would make England a safer place. Sorting out the innocent ones first was not really important.

Garrow and his cases are based on records held by the Old Bailey. The four-part series covers some of Garrow’s early cases and gives an excellent idea of the criminal system at the time. It was known as the “Inquisitorial System”, where the Judge ran the case. The Courts were a popular entertainment venue, but Garrow’s surprising results from his cross-examinations soon made them even more popular.

Garrow later became Solicitor General and then Attorney General and brought in many reforms. One was changing to the “Adversarial System” where the Judge became simply a referee and the case for guilt or innocence was argued out by the Counsels and supported by evidence, and the circus atmosphere was tempered by a little more dignity. .

Within the first episode we have a good picture of the characters of the main players. This can only be put down to superb acting and scripting. The storylines very quickly give us an idea of the state of “justice” in those times.

The first DVD includes a “Making Of ...” featurette that is impressive for the detail it shows of how to make a period drama. There is a certain pride in the behind-the-scenes staff in getting it absolutely right.

The series did well when it was launched on BBC1 in primetime this year. At only four episodes it is far too short, but surely we will see a second series? Soon, I hope.

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This review will appear in Volume 3 No.1 of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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