Young Legal Eagles

With unprecedented access to in the inside of a courtroom at the Old Bailey, this ground-breaking documentary explores the British legal system. Young people from UK state schools and colleges take on the roles of barrister, defendant, witness, jury, court reporter, court artist, forensic scientist and court usher.

Presided over by Baroness Scotland QC, and using dramatic reconstruction to illustrate the crime, we watch the anatomy of a case unfold in the Old Bailey courtroom. Top-class barristers and other experts in the field mentor the young people in the run-up to the live trial, teaching them the skills of oration and debating, details about crime investigation and what to expect in cross-examination, so that they are ready for their day in court.

The young legal eagles try the fictitious case of a young woman charged with a joint-enterprise crime - she allegedly used her mobile phone to video an assault carried out by people known to her. The mock trial gives viewers an opportunity to learn about the English legal system in general and the cut and thrust of a trial in particular.

This is the first time cameras have been allowed to film in the Old Bailey, and the programme will contribute to the intensifying debate as to whether real court cases should be broadcast on television in the future.