How do you find the defendant?

I arrived in work a couple of weeks ago to find a message on my desk reading:
"Nath, please can you build a set of pages for the Criminal Prosecution Service. They want people to be able to play the role of the jury and pass sentence on the person being prosecuted"

I knew little about the project and said yes I could do it but I was a bit snowed under.
It was then I was told it was required for the next day!!!

Anyway I worked away and "Your Justice" was born.

An interactive virtual courtroom scenario hosted by the NWN Media Ltd. in co-operation with the Crown Prosecution Service and local firms of Defence Solicitors.

You play the role of a member of the local criminal justice system making key decisions the like of which those in the Criminal Justice System make every day.

In the coming months there will be a number of scenarios where you will play the role of a Magistrate, a Prosecutor or even Probation Officer advising the Court. Each scenario will be fictional but based on real life cases that would be dealt with in Magistrates Courts all over the country.

It may come as a surprise to know that Magistrates are not paid. They are volunteers who want to help and play a part in protecting their local community. Although they do receive some training, they are not legally qualified. They use their life experience and local knowledge to make there decisions. You do not therefore need any legal knowledge to take part in these exercises.

Your Justice is brought to you in an attempt to make the local criminal justice system more transparent, we are of course funded by the taxpayer. We hope it gives you an insight both into the difficult decisions made on a daily basis and perhaps more importantly you can be assured that your taxes are being used appropriately. We should also highlight that no additional public funds have been used to create this Project. All the filming and editing has been done using personal equipment. All participants have given their time freely. Not only has this kept costs down but also the lower quality improves download speeds. You will need an up to date version of windows media player to stream the content.

After participating, feel free to post your comments on the Evening Leader Forum where members of the cast will try to respond to your comments and questions.

We hope you find the experience interesting and that you will return to try all the new scenarios as they are produced.

Anyway take a look at it and vote on your sentence, it's an interesting project and we hope it'll prove popular.

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR JUSTICE