By Chris Caesar
law briefs
Across the world, just a few hundred lawyers from outside the U.K. apply to work for the Bar of England and Wales each year, with an estimated average of only one a year from the United States. While not a typical career move for a Boston-area assistant district attorney, John J. Burke, MPA/MSPS ’09, JD ’14, a former Middlesex County prosecutor in Malden and Lowell, Massachusetts, is now practicing in London as a barrister—a specialized courtroom advocate in the U.K. legal system. He thinks he may be the first Suffolk Law graduate to serve in the role.
Barristers don’t necessarily specialize in a particular type of case, nor do they line up, day after day, as defense or prosecution, he says. Barristers’ roles are often interchangeable: It’s entirely possible that, in a given week, one might serve as the defense, prosecution, or even as a judge—though not all for the same case.
Burke first got the idea to explore the U.K. legal system after getting some advice from now-retired Lowell District Court Judge Barbara Savitt Pearson, JD ’75.
“She called me into her chambers at one point and suggested that I might like to join the American Inns of Court; in particular, to attend a trial advocacy program in Chicago that was facilitated by British barristers,” Burke says.
Inns of Court are legal societies in the U.K. that play a pivotal and unique role in its system, providing training and mentorship. The American Inns of Court is a similar organization inspired by this British tradition.
After a busy few days of rigorous mock courtroom exercises, Burke’s interest was piqued. That curiosity led him to the Pegasus Scholarship, a program that allows two selected attorneys to spend six weeks in London, immersing themselves in the British legal system.
"When I was there, I kept thinking about how exciting the profession was,” Burke reflects. “Barristers don't just stay in their chambers; they're in court, they're the frontline advocates.”
The differences certainly didn’t end there—not all of them necessarily positive. For example, Burke noted the absence of a Bill of Rights. “It may sound like a theoretical difference, but in practical terms: If you're caught speeding here by camera, the government can mail you a notice saying, ‘please identify who was driving your car,’” Burke says, “ and failure to respond, like speeding, is a criminal offense. “Obviously, you could never have that in the U.S., because it would be a violation of your Fifth Amendment rights. But here, it is permissible, and happens every day.”
He contrasted his experience working in the juvenile court system in the United States with his experience across the pond. In the U.K., defendants under 18 are not afforded the right to a jury trial, which means that defense attorneys can’t build sympathy with the jurors. As such, it might not come as a surprise that magistrates have a higher conviction rate than in the U.S. Prosecutors also cannot make sentencing recommendations or offer plea deals. As a result, there is little incentive for prosecutors to offer a diversion program, he says.
“Having said that, I find it quite difficult to vocalize criticism of the English system with any credibility, as I come from the country with the highest incarceration rate in the world, and a place where—at least in half the states—the death penalty is a lawful means of punishment,” Burke adds. “Neither jurisdiction can credibly claim the historic moral high ground.”
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Photograph courtesy of John J. Burke
winter 2024
