09. Feb. 2010. – 11:54:33
If ever there was a situation where
accurate up to date information must be readily available it is on the desk of
the Legal Adviser to a Bench of Magistrates. When papers are missing or
inaccurate the consequences can vary from hilarious to horrendous. When a court
is still sitting at 5.00pm which is not uncommon office staff have usually left
and those in court must resolve any difficulties on the spot. Such a recent
late sitting involved a woman arrested earlier in the day for breaching bail
conditions in that she was seen entering the street where her lover lived
although it appeared to be a condition of bail not to do so. It seemed on the
surface clear enough. However the Police National Computer indicated that she
was on conditional bail for two alleged assaults a month apart two trials
having been set for March and April. One set of conditions forbade her from
going to the complainant`s address and the other from entering the street where
she lived. The Legal Adviser had papers in front of her only for one of the
incidents. The Crown prosecutor had no papers for the first charge and defence
lawyer had knowledge only of the other matter his client having another firm of
solicitors for the first case. A sentence including the words brewery and
organise came to mind. The defendant faced a night in the cells. With
pragmatism borne from necessity the CPS was persuaded to drop the bail charge
and the two sets of bail conditions were harmonised preventing entry to the
complainant`s street. The defendant was given a very strict warning as to the
restrictions on which she was released.
What would Rumpole of the Bailey have made
of it? No doubt another tale of woe to be washed down with a bottle of Claret
in his favourite Fleet Street watering hole.
No comments:
Post a Comment