14. Dec. 2009. – 14:48:05
Taking a very broad view it could be argued
that the Scots have shown an enlightenment legally and otherwise compared to
the English as a candle illuminates the shadows. There was a united Scottish
kingdom before William the C made England his home. It can be fairly argued
that Scottish writers of stature, inventors, philosophers, economists,
scientists have been produced in numbers relative to population in excess of
any other country. Hanging for what we now describe as minor criminality was
virtually abolished in Scotland in the early 1800s decades before such social
progress was observed south of the border.
Until the early 1700s Scottish law
considered a felon`s guilt proven or not proven on the facts of the case. But
as a result of a case in 1728 a jury was allowed to bring in a verdict of not
guilty when the facts in isolation indicated guilt. And so it developed that
juries would bring in verdicts of not proven when the jury was unconvinced that
the defendant was not guilty. This is the current situation which led in common
parlance to the admonishment, "Not proven but don`t do it again". A
defendant could be considered fortunate to have "gotten away with it"
or an innocent person would have a permanent stain on his character and doubt
of innocence would be everlasting.
And so to Labour`s "Third Way". A
notion dreamt up by Tony Blair and his acolytes to persuade the British public
that socialist Labour of the past was dead and buried. Now in a perverse manner
Labour`s idea of not guilty has been split into not guilty but not quite
innocent ie not proven. I refer to my previous observations of assault in a
"domestic setting" otherwise referred to as Domestic Violence which
doesn`t figure on the statute book but as an early symbol of Labour`s unspoken
deference to the not proven concept. Prior to sitting on such cases magistrates
are required to attend "training" where they are presented with
spurious statistics concerning various international analyses of what assaulted
women [usually] have undergone from their partner prior to the charge being
brought the conclusion being that the Crown Prosecution Service wishes matters
other than the evidence presented at trial to be considered. For magistrates
with more than about four years experience this is a novel instruction which
thankfully is given much less consideration than the powers that be would wish.
Two months ago restraining orders became
available for the protection of victims of domestic violence; but not only for
those whose partners had pleaded or had been found guilty but also for those
aquitted of such charges. This was a matter for the courts` discretion
depending on the circumstances. Another example of a not guilty being
interpreted as a not proven.
And now we find out that the daddy of all
snoopers the newly formed quango The Independant Safeguarding Authority has or
will have the power to decide if those seeking registration and with no
criminal record nevertheless are a "risk to children". Its 200
workers whose qualifications are to say the least questionable will have the
authority to interview all manner of people ranging from those from wherever
who choose to comment on the lifestyle of the particular individual to
employers, neighbours and literally anybody the caseworkers wish to contact.
This scandal is not just an over zealous government seeking to protect children
and vulnerable adults but the most authoritarian peace time government in
modern times inducing a weary populous into a state of paranoia where an adult
is guilty until proved innocent. The German film "Lives of Others"
won the Oscar a couple of years ago for "Best Foreign Language" film.
It told of the Stasi`s {the former Communist East Germany`s Secret police}
intrusion into all aspects of peoples` lives by cajoling, threatening and
blackmailing ordinary people to spy on their families, workmates, friends and
neighbours and report their activities to the authorities. Sprechen sie Deutch?
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