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The courtroom looks orderly from the gallery, but behind the wigs and gowns is a profession running on grit, late nights, and vending machines. We sit down with criminal defense barrister Kate Kelleher and the Criminal Bar Association’s James Rosseter to reveal how the Criminal Bar keeps fairness alive while the system strains at every seam.

Kate maps the quiet collapse of camaraderie since the pandemic: fewer juniors, downsized chambers, and loose networks that used to provide feedback, mentorship, and the small kindness of a post‑trial debrief. James connects these human shifts to structural problems, understaffed teams, equipment failures, and disclosure errors that still derail trials decades after notorious miscarriages of justice. The stories range from judges’ dinners that changed careers to real cases halted when phone data surfaced late, and to the absurdity of hunting a treasury tag while a jury waits. Small details, no café, no time, no space to talk, compound into big risks for fair trials.

We explore the emotional toll the public rarely sees: flashbacks that intrude at bedtime, the discipline to avoid alcohol during trial, and the recurring fear of not being able to protect one’s own child in a police station. Kate draws a vital line between legal guilt and religious or moral guilt, reminding us that beyond a reasonable doubt is more than a phrase, it is the standard that protects us all. With local court reporting fading, the everyday work of justice disappears from view, leaving only sensational headlines and thin narratives. What gets lost is the humanity of people who still show up, hungry and exhausted, to make sure no stone is left unturned.

If you care about justice reform, open courts, the Criminal Bar, and the real mechanics of fair trials, this conversation is your front-row seat. Subscribe, share, and leave a review to help more listeners find stories that show how justice actually works, and how it can work better.

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Produced by Henry Chukwunyerenwa

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Justice feels distant until it isn’t. We open the doors to a courtroom few ever truly see, where trauma arrives with every case and formality—the wig, the gown, the ritual—exists to contain it. With barrister Kate Kelleher and Criminal Bar Association communications lead James Rossiter, we explore how lawyers hold the line between empathy and evidence while facing impossible timelines and rising complexity.

Across candid stories and sharp analysis, we examine why language matters—why “victim” becomes “complainant” until a verdict—and what that means for fairness. We look at fitness-to-plead, the spillover from a strained mental health system, and the human toll of trials drifting into 2027 and even 2029.
We also tackle prevention. School exclusions that push children to the streets, social media that rewards impulse, and the loss of everyday boundaries mean too many meet their first real limit in court. Amid that, barristers carry years of detail, reheated at each review, with little time to build trust with clients. Victim personal statements can validate pain but seldom change sentences, revealing the emotional and legal limits woven through modern justice. This conversation is clear-eyed, humane, and grounded in lived practice.

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Credits

Guest: Kate Kalleher & James Rossiter

Producer: Charlotte Janes & Nico Rivosecchi

Soundtrack: Particles (Revo Main Version) by [Coma-Media]

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Modern slavery isn’t far away or long ago. It’s here, woven into daily life, and too often dismissed as something else. We sit down with Lauren Saunders, Deputy Director of Frontline Services at Unseen, to uncover how exploitation hides in UK homes, care settings, nail bars, construction sites and supply chains—and what it takes to bring people to safety and hold perpetrators to account.

Lauren explains what modern slavery looks like today, from forced labour and domestic servitude to sexual and criminal exploitation, and clarifies the difference between trafficking and smuggling. We dig into red flags the public can spot, why victims may not recognise their exploitation, and how a culture of belief shapes better policing and prosecutions. We also connect the dots between consumer choices and forced labour, exploring how complex supply chains in agriculture, hospitality and construction can mask abuse. If you’ve ever wondered what to do when something feels wrong, this conversation gives you clear steps, useful resources and the conviction to act.

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Buy The View issue 15 here

Credits

Guest: Lauren Saunders

Producer: Charlotte Janes

Soundtrack: Particles (Revo Main Version) by [Coma-Media]

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