Russell Brand has arrived at Southwark Crown Court as his trial on sexual offence charges gets under way.
The 51-year-old comedian and actor reached the court in south London at around 8.45am on Monday, stepping out of a black Mercedes accompanied by his wife, Laura Gallacher, and members of security staff. He said nothing to the reporters gathered outside the building.
Dressed in a grey suit, white shirt, brown neckerchief, brown boots and sunglasses, Brand walked into the court building without making any comment.
He faces seven charges in total: three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. The charges relate to six women, and the alleged offences are said to have taken place between 1999 and 2009. Brand denies all of the charges.
Jury selection is expected to begin today, with the trial expected to last up to ten weeks.
How jury selection works
The first formal step in a Crown Court trial is the selection and swearing-in of the jury. Twelve jurors are chosen at random from those summoned to attend court, and are sworn in before the case can begin.
Once the jury is empanelled, the prosecution opens its case, setting out the charges and the evidence it intends to rely upon. The defence then has the opportunity to respond before witnesses are called to give evidence.
Juries at Crown Courts across London decide serious criminal cases every day. A jury at Southwark Crown Court recently convicted a Croydon man of murdering his partner after years of control and abuse.
What the coming weeks will look like
A trial of this length typically follows a well-established pattern. After the opening speeches, the prosecution calls its witnesses, who may then be cross-examined by the defence. The defence case follows, and the defendant may choose whether or not to give evidence themselves.
Both sides then deliver closing speeches, after which the judge sums up the evidence and directs the jury on the relevant law. The jury retires to consider its verdicts, and must reach a decision on each count. In this case, there are seven counts for the jury to decide.
Trials at the Crown Court can last from a few days to several months, depending on the number of charges, the number of witnesses and the complexity of the evidence. This trial is expected to run for up to ten weeks, making it one of the longer trials to be heard at the court this year.
Southwark Crown Court
Southwark Crown Court in south-east London is one of the busiest Crown Courts in the capital, regularly hearing serious criminal trials. The court has hosted a string of major cases, including that of arms broker David Greenhalgh, who was jailed for 16 years.
The court also regularly deals with sexual offence cases. A former Metropolitan Police inspector, Michael Richards, was convicted of sexual assault and appeared at Southwark Crown Court ahead of his sentencing.
The road to trial
Serious criminal cases such as this one reach the Crown Court after a series of earlier hearings. Following charge, a defendant first appears before magistrates, where the case is sent to the Crown Court. A plea and trial preparation hearing then confirms the pleas to each count, deals with case management and fixes a trial date. Further pre-trial hearings may resolve legal arguments about what evidence the jury will be allowed to hear.
In cases involving allegations of sexual offences, the law provides complainants with lifetime anonymity. It is a criminal offence to publish anything that could identify a complainant in such cases, and reporting of the trial must take care not to breach those protections.
A note on the law
All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The charges set out above are allegations which remain to be tested at trial, and Brand has denied each of them. Nothing in this article should be read as suggesting any finding of guilt.
