Tradition likely to take a back seat

OUR courts are steeped in history, but many of the traditional practices are under threat as governments move to modernise justice.

Last year, the title of Queen’s Counsel was abandoned in WA in favour of Senior Counsel.

More changes are likely this year.

Wigs and other traditional garb may be on the way out in criminal courts and the Labor Party has set its sights on one particular word.

The “Crown” has fallen out of favour and Attorney-General Jim McGinty wants to replace it with “State”.

So we will have the State Solicitor and cases will be cited as the State versus whomever.

Mr McGinty said modernising nomenclature was part of “tidying up” some elements of the legal world.

“What I want to end up with is something which is modern and efficient,” Mr McGinty said.