If you visit criminal courts in different Western European countries, judges look different and behave differently. In Sweden the young judge in the tingsrätt will be in ordinary clothes, sitting on a panel with lay assessors, probably even older than her parents, at the same level as the prosecutor, defence lawyer and the accused. It is more like a meeting than a common-law trial, with everyone joining in, often across the table, rather than speaking at the invitation of the presiding judge. In France, the three women judges, one middle-aged and two younger, will be in robes, on a dais raised above the accused and his lawyer. Alongside the judges, and at the same level, will be the prosecutor. The focus of the event is the discussion between the judges and the accused or the judges and witnesses, with occasional interventions of the defence advocate. The English, middle-aged trial judge is even more formal, wearing a wig, and raised above everyone. In front of him will be the advocates for prosecution and defence in robes, who do much of the talking, and the accused behind them, who says little. The lay jury will be in a separate box on the side. Such initial impressions offer a starting point for this book. People who are called ‘judges’ are of different ages and relate differently in the court setting to those around them. Most continental judges are women.