Joanna Hardy-Susskind hosting ten-part series
A top junior barrister is hosting a new show on BBC Radio 4 giving an inside view on the workings of the criminal justice system.
Joanna Hardy-Susskind is hosting the ten-part series that runs through the criminal process from the initial allegation, through evidence gathering and charging, pleading, and robing room antics with other barristers.
The series, You Do Not Have to Say Anything, aims to “lift the curtain on the real criminal justice system and the real people working within it — beneath the wigs, under the uniforms and in the dock”.
Running live on Monday to Friday at 1:45pm on BBC Radio 4, the barrister answers questions including: “Do barristers wash their wigs? What do officers and suspects chat about in the back of police cars? How do people try to get out of jury service? What goes on in a barristers’ robing room? And how do you tell someone that they are going to prison?”
For those who can’t catch the episodes live, or might have already missed the first few, you can catch up with every minute directly on BBC Sounds.
Hardy-Susskind is a top junior defence barrister in London, with her recent cases including double attempted murders, manslaughter, rape, kidnap, child cruelty, firearms offences, drug operations and high-level fraud.
Speaking to Legal Cheek, the accomplished barrister said: “I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to make ‘You Do Not Have to Say Anything’ with the BBC.”
“We wanted to create a show that blended the warmth and good humour of the profession with the hard-hitting reality of our courtrooms. By focusing on real people we hope to have dispelled some myths about the system and about our profession. I am so grateful to all of our contributors who generously shared their expertise and experiences.”
“We have been blown away by the positive responses and hope everyone continues to enjoy the final five episodes this week.”
The new show joins BBC Radio 4’s existing legal library. Previous instalments include the long-running Law In Action series, first broadcast in 1984 and replaced in 2024 by the newly created The Law Show. You can also catch up on episodes of both of these series’ dating back as far as 2009.
