Sydney Barristers

Spoiler Alert - Aussies lawyers wear wigs in court!

A barristers wig.

The Australian legal system is different than in the US.

 

In Australia, lawyers are called solicitors. 

When seeking legal advice, they are the first to be contacted. 

They hold a law degree and a license to practice law.  

However, they do not have to take the standardized bar examination. 

On the other hand, a barrister has all of the credentials of a solicitor, plus they must sit and pass the bar.

In Australia, barristers are the only lawyers allowed to argue on behalf of clients in a court of law.

Barrister vs. Solicitor

My son-in-law, a barrister, invited me to the courtroom to observe him present a case. 

I was thrilled to see first-hand the Australian legal system at work. 

I arrived in the courtroom just minutes before the judge. 

As I looked around the room, I spotted him and a row of other men sitting in the front of the courtroom, wearing wigs (peruke) atop their heads. 

Seeing lawyers in wigs was like stepping back to a time before I was born. 

American attorneys and judges dumped wigs in the 19th century.

I felt like I was in Dorothy's Oz and had just landed down in Munchkinland.  

Bench wigs consist of a frizz crown with four rows of seven curls in the back and two long strips of hair hanging below the hairline on the back of the neck. 

Perukes are made from horsehair and can be coarse and stiff. 

Wigs that look worn-out are associated with a barrister's years of court experience. 

For that reason, some neophyte barristers will tousle wigs making them appear older, so others think they have more courtroom experience than they have. 

Australian traditionalists believe wigs dignify the court by bringing a sense of formality and seriousness to the proceedings.  

It also creates a cohesive courtroom environment.

Barrister wig.

Barrister wig - back view.

In addition to the wig, barristers also wear formal regalia, consisting  of a robe, jacket, and jabot. 

The robe adds gravitas and promotes a professional image and one of authority!

Like the robes of graduates differ depending upon the degree earned, a barrister's robe distinguishes senior barristers from juniors.  

Barrister's jabot.

Barrister's regalia - back view.

Junior barristers wear robes made of wool, and Senior Counsel (SC) or Queens Counsel (QC) wear silk gowns.  

Silks is the name given to a limited number of barristers who have demonstrated remarkable ability and achieved the status of Queens Counsel.   

Silks are most likely to be appointed as judges. 

Silks - Queens Counsel.

I carefully observed everyone as they entered the courtroom.

Each person entering the court genuflected to the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, which hung prominently behind the judge's bench as a sign of respect. 

Sydney courtroom.

An awe-inspiring and prestigious-looking symbol, it features the states of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, and South & Western Australia, which were united in 1901 when the country became a nation. 

A kangaroo holds up the shield on the left, and an emu stands on the right - only in Australia!

To conduct day-to-day business, barristers rent or purchase personal office space called chambers which are executive-style rooms usually in high-rise buildings.

Chambers on higher floors are usually pricey and typically reserved for senior barristers.

As a tenant of a chamber, barristers have access to administrative staffers, law clerks, conference rooms, printing, copying, video-conferencing services, and other barristers. 

The 'Office of the Judge' is the name given to a judge's chambers.   

To meet a judge in his office is called to meet in camera.

A gavel, sometimes used by a judge.

Most barristers are self-employed and may charge a fixed, hourly, or conditional fee. 

 

Payment may also be by arrangements. 

 

If a solicitor and a barrister are on the case, the solicitor may include barrister fees in their initial retainer or final payment and pay the barrister for services directly.  

Otherwise, a barrister may invoice the client.

Barristers are not permitted to have connections to partnerships or public companies if they owe an allegiance with them.

Richard Richard Roxburgh is the Australian actor who stars in Rake, 
an Australian TV show about a misbehaved barrister. (I loved it!)

There are many rules of etiquette followed in an Australian courtroom,

such as: 

• arriving on time

• sitting in the public seating areas in the back of the courtroom

• wearing clean and conservative clothing 

• refraining from eating or drinking

• standing and sitting when directed 

• behaving respectfully

• addressing the jury officer as, 'Your Honor' 

Failure to follow the court rules can result in disciplinary actions such as being asked to leave the court, receiving a fine, or imprisonment for more serious offenses. 

Since I was there by invitation from my son-in-law, I wasn't about to break any rules, have bad manners, or risk receiving a fine, so I genuflected, bowed, and kneeled to the code of arms on my way out the door.

Solicitors, barristers, & silks, oh my . . . . 

Courtroom wigs . . . 

Bowing in court . . .  

I am NOT in Kansas!

Australian Cigarette Packaging

Yipes! Just when I thought nothing else here would surprise me, something did! 

Australia packages its cigarettes in dark-colored boxes covered with gruesome pictures and horrific warnings about the dangers of smoking.  

Each pack highlights specific smoking-related diseases to drive home the message that smoking causes fatal illnesses.  

Rheumatoid arthritis, acute leukemia, ectopic pregnancy, kidney cancer, infertility in women, diabetes, erectile dysfunction, blindness, bladder cancer, and peptic ulcers are all diseases that made the cut and appeared on the various boxes. 

Various brands of cigarettes packaged in Australia.

The objective of the packaging is to force smokers to look at the images and read the health warnings repeatedly. 

Each pack is more frightful than the next, but the worst, in my opinion, is the corpse's foot and the warning SMOKING KILLS in large letters.

Wow, I don't see this back home in the US. 

Australia's strategy to make smoking less appealing

Smoking isn’t illegal in Australia, just demonized by mainstream society and the Australian government. 

There are plenty of Aussies who smoke in outdoor spaces and the privacy of their homes.

  

However, it’s not allowed in enclosed public places in every state and territory in the country.  

It is also prohibited n personal vehicles that carry children under 16. 

A smoker with Australia’s plain tobacco packaging with a health warning. AAP Image/Sam Mooy

Tobacco smoking, which includes cigars, loose-leaf & shisha/waterpipe tobacco products, is responsible for more cancer deaths in Australia than any other single factor.  

Smokers have an increased risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer, renal disease, eye disease, and respiratory illnesses.  

But tobacco companies don't talk about the health risks associated with their products.

Cigarette advertising is illegal everywhere except for the ads against smoking plastered on the actual pack.  

For years the tobacco industry has taken advantage of this loophole to market their product through their box design, color, and descriptive terminology such as 'low tar,' 'light,' and 'mild.' 

Australia's pack advertising has fought back! 

Original Cartoons by Jeff Berry

Reducing the smoking rate is in the interest of public health, so the Australian government introduced legislation to Parliament that would fight fire with fire. 

The controversial Tobacco Plain Packaging Act of 2011 required tobacco products to be in dark-colored packaging with gut-wrenching graphics & actual health warnings.  

The legislation passed, and the plain packaging law became law in December 2012.

Today all tobacco products are standardized in Australia, i.e., they all look the same. Very Confusing?

But have they gone too far?  

Not for Australia, which is a nanny state by American standards, a term the Brits came up with to describe an overprotective government, especially concerning health and safety.  

Some countries will let you do what you want and expect you to do the right (safe) thing. Not here: they pass laws to protect you from yourself.  

Australia is a member of the World Health Organization (WHO), an agency of the United Nations that focuses on international public health.  

The WHO held a Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2003, and Australia became a signatory (co-signer). 

 

They were now accountable for meeting outcomes, including reducing the smoking rate in Australian and Aboriginal communities.  

The Plain Packaging Act was one measure Australia took to fulfill its obligation.   

Plain packaging doesn't just apply to tobacco products manufactured down-under. Any tobacco company that wants to do business in the Aussie market must comply.

Changing the packaging was a problem for the big tobacco companies, like the Altria Group, Inc., aka Philip Morris International, the  biggest cigarette company in the world and the maker of the best-selling cigarette, Marlboro. 

They took Australia to court - twice - to argue that plain packaging would diminish the value of the company's trademark.  

They lost the first battle in an Australian courtroom and the second in an international arbitration court.  The court criticized the case for being an "abuse of rights." 

Philip Morris International had to be “hot” to see their logos, bright colors, and expensive package designs exchanged for dark shades, grotesque images, and death warnings. 

While the outside of the packages may leave a bad taste in your mouth, the actual cigarettes are the same.  

Although, some folks have also complained about the taste.

Tobacco companies deny changing the make-up of their cigarettes.

Marlboro's packaging stages.

In US convenience stores, retail merchants showcase their tobacco products on walls  behind checkout counters.  

These visual display areas are "power walls" because they can draw customers in and entice them to make additional purchases.  

"Power walls" draw the attention of children and adults alike, leaving some children to think that because the products are so prominently displayed, they can't be dangerous.  Seriously?

In the US, convenience stores below tobacco products are easy to identify, at a glance, by brand or color, and prices are in full view.  

US convenience store cigarette 'power wall.' 

That is not the case in Australia, where tobacco cabinets are as scary as the packs. 

 

The Aussie "power wall' showcases anti-smoking messages and telephone numbers to quitlines.  Even at a glance, it is easy to see that the word quit appears twice.  

There are no bright colors, familiar logos, or trademarks in view - only a list of cigarette brands for sale and their prices typeset in a medium-sized font.

Not appealing, but you get the message.  

Aussie convenience store cigarette 'power wall' - not at all subtle.

According to the World Health Organization, tobacco excise (tax) is the single most effective way to encourage tobacco users to quit.  

The Australian government has been raising it by 12.5% each year. 

Close  up of the cigarette price list in Cole's grocery store (Chatswood)

They are already among the most expensive cigarettes globally, and the government's goal is to hike the price up to $52.00 for a 20-pack by 2020.

Cartoonist John Ditchburn

Tobacco products cost the government $31.5 billion each year in health and economic costs. 

They collect around 8 billion in tobacco excise, which is good since Australia provides universal (free) health coverage.

The question remains: Does cigarette packaging encourage quitting?  

Some Aussies say they quit because of the pack, while others say they have become desensitized to the images, and the packaging doesn't matter. 

The government has reported a reduction in tobacco use, but it may take years before anyone knows if it's because of plain packaging. My bet is on the excise.

Meanwhile, other countries are considering adopting this law, maybe even yours.

Grotesque images on cigarette packs. . .

Tobacco products behind closed doors. . . 

Forty dollars a pack? . . .  

I am NOT in Kansas!