THE HARD MEN OF CARLISLE

 

by TheJusticeofthePeace @ 22. Nov. 2010. – 15:24:02

There were interesting goings on recently at Carlisle Crown Court. In an area famous for its history of border fighting from Picts and Romans to the border Reivers and with its male inhabitants considering themselves as hard or harder than their eastern neighbours in Northumberland it seems old habits die hard. 

A butch Cumberlander on a DV charge sacked his female solicitor and barrister on the basis that their sex would prejudice their representation and would be against his best interests until persuaded otherwise by the judge [male].

And as if that wasn`t enough to attest to the supposed dominance of the y chromosome in Carlise Crown Court it took ten police cars and up to 25 police officers to control fighting. Unless there is a risk of violence my court has no security officers present in court at all. My sittings at my local Crown Court seem to indicate that a permanent police presence is absent there also. Short term cash savings perhaps but on the other hand………………………………..

COURTS NEWS//CAMBERWELL`S VIRTUALLY NOT SO WELL

by TheJusticeofthePeace @ 22. Nov. 2010. – 15:16:37

Virtual Courts are controversial. The principle of having courts in police stations however the arguments are tended is not one that has met universal acclaim. The practice, as argued by proponents, would convince doubters . It has not. It seems the optimistic gloss has become tarnished. The “court” in Camberwell South London is in chaos according to a report in the Law Society Gazette. This observer considers that irrespective of practice the idea of courts ensconced in police stations does not sit well with judicial independence. I therefore look forward to the official announcement that this pilot scheme will not be a basis for future plans.

LORD PHILLIPS OFFERS SUPPORT TO MAGISTRATES

 

by TheJusticeofthePeace @ 22. Nov. 2010. – 14:21:54

A former Chief Justice of England is a good person to have on one`s side when the opponent is The Secretary of State for Justice. The freedom of the red benches is as good as a dose of sodium pentothal the truth drug not that former LCJs need stimulants to be truthful but the effect of the drug is apparently to reduce inhibitions about talking on a subject even a top secret subject. Good Lord Phillips has mooted that J.P.s be able to sentence for up to twelve months custody. Interesting times are ahead when K.Clarke publishes his proposals for our courts.

NO MORE RUNNERS AT BOW STREET

 

by TheJusticeofthePeace @ 22. Nov. 2010. – 08:48:03

Its square was orange in colour and it could be bought for £180. When I played Monopoly as a child the set of Bow Street, Vine Street and Marlborough Street was my favourite. Why…..I don`t know except I was very rarely beaten when the game ended. Perhaps because that set was neither upmarket Mayfair nor down at heel Old Kent Road it had an appeal as being in the middle of the market. I must remember to tell my analyst that, if ever I feel the need to unburden myself to a total stranger for £squids/hour.

Bow Street Magistrates` Court must be the most well known court name after the Old Bailey. It began dishing out justice to the villains or should that be villeins of London in 1740 and closed its doors in 2006. The enterprising individual who bought it then for c €25 million is reported to have sold it for £28 million in hard cash to an Austrian hotelier. It`s likely its new customers will have more comfortable bed and breakfast than the previous occupants of the building.

LORD JUDGE AND JURIES

 

by TheJusticeofthePeace @ 21. Nov. 2010. – 12:46:16

There has been much attention paid to Lord Judge, Lord Chief Justice and the judiciary`s main man. This is as it should be. And when he comments on the jury system everybody listens and that also is how it should be. But critical comment has been………… pianissimo. 

The good lord has explained his discomfort in that jurors might seek further knowledge from outside the courtroom when considering facts pertaining to a case. In other words they might seek to increase their knowledge by the common man`s most accessible source of information……the internet……. which might offer many things but in general terms is an enormous fantasamagorical library with an indexing system easy enough for Joe Blogs to find in seconds eg the Italian musical term for playing softly. But in the good old days only toffs and so called intellectuals had shelves full of books which contained information that was or could be useful for or of interest to them. Of course in those days old or good most such folk declined to serve on juries; they were too busy or considered themselves too important to judge their fellow man. Now that`s all changed and everybody……..or is anybody a better description?……..can be chosen for jury service. And that`s the point. There is no consideration of anybody`s intelligence or ability to follow the performance, to appreciate the hurdle “beyond reasonable doubt”, no test to ascertain the limits of anybody`s understanding of the English language or anybody`s capability of balancing the credibility of witnesses or the facility for anybody to comprehend a judge`s summing up. Truly anybody can be a bit thick but then that`s why we have a jury of twelve people who can be anybody. Of course under current attitudes supposedly handed down from Magna Carta and modified for current times peer review by any other term is what determines a defendant`s guilt or innocence. 

In effect the LCJ is complaining that ignorant jurors trying to fulfil their task are seeking knowledge outside the courtroom which others in their group might already possess by virtue of their education, profession, general or specific knowledge or quite simply a higher IQ. Universal jury service is now an outmoded concept and sooner or later a senior member of the judiciary, probably after retirement, will step into the public arena and say so. This is not to say I am advocating judge[s] only courts……I am against the practice of single District Judges acting in trials as both judge and jury. I am suggesting that the concept of juries now constituted is not an 11th commandment notwithstanding the recent paper Are Juries Fair? Another interesting paper taking a wide historical perspective is A Historical and Comparative Perspective on the Common Law Jury . More research should be undertaken into possible variations to ensure that justice is done and seen to be done lest another government with similar authoritarian tendencies as those which lurked in Downing Street from 1997 until May pulls up its drawbridge and judge[s] only trials risk becoming commonplace.

CURFEWS AND TAGS

  

by TheJusticeofthePeace @ 05. Dec. 2010. – 13:38:15

One of the most difficult decisions for any bench is deciding whether to remand in custody a defendant awaiting trial or to remand on bail considering that the starting point is that bail is the right of the accused. With the advent of electronic tagging to verify any breaking of curfew restrictions many defendants are on bail who perhaps twenty years ago would have been kept in custody. The tag will send a signal if the wearer leaves the assigned address within the restricted hours. Such was and is the case of Asil Nadir, fugitive tycoon, who voluntarily returned from self imposed exile to face trial after having received an assurance that he would be granted bail. Amongst the bail conditions was a home curfew from midnight until 6.00am and the wearing of a tag. According to a TV news report there was a knock on his door in the wee sma` hours [around 01.30?] by SERCO who monitor such matters for Her Majesty`s Court Service. Inside the house were Mr Nasir and his house guests. There is no knowledge whether or not they were asleep in bed at the time. He will not be charged with a breach of his curfew.

This scenario reminded me of a young mother also tagged and also curfewed between midnight and 6.00am who was before us in September for breach which she denied. SERCO prosecutor told us a technician visited the house at 00.45 to verify if the tag was working. The defendant told us she was indoors asleep and was afraid to open the front door at that time. We accepted her good reasons for her fear. Delegated powers to people who might have a “jobsworth” attitude to their duties are sometimes a mistake.