A point everyone in our fledgling democracy needs to understand is that magistrates and judges benefit indirectly from long trials. This is because attorneys and advocates are usually paid by the hour and therefore earn more from long trials than they do from short trials.
This makes it easier for magistrates and judges to argue that they would be earning significantly more money in the private sector; that a failure to give them an increase will result in a substantial number of magistrates resigning and the state having to appoint inexperienced attorneys and advocates as magistrates and judges.
By far the easiest way to get a trial over quickly is for a magistrate and judge to question witnesses about the testimony they are in the process of giving, thereby letting them know that their testimony is not having the desired effect (and that they are in danger of antagonising the court).
Sadly, magistrates and judges often remain silent (particularly in civil trials) even when it is clear that the witness is lying or being evasive or uncooperative.
Revealingly, at the Small Claims Court - where attorneys and advocates are prohibited from plying their trade - Commissioners regularly play a much more active role. Trials are often over in less than an hour.
TERENCE GRANT | Cape Town
The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media or IOL.
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