After a late night visit to Heathrow to see my son off on his 5,500 mile flight home, I was on the rota to sit today. We only used three of our five courtrooms , all of which were dealing with overnight custody cases and suchlike, no trials being listed. We sat a bench of two in Court One, and I was pleased to find that my colleague was a sensible and well-liked lady, and that we were clerked by a very experienced and senior legal adviser in whom I have total confidence.
The list was the usual holiday-time mix of domestic violence, shoplifting (usually to buy drugs) and suchlike. There was one case of prostitution (like most others today, the Romanian lady in the dock pleaded guilty) and a couple of referrals from our resident mental health worker. One of her customers was assertively flaky, full of demands to know this and that, despite having rejected free legal advice.
The new electronic system of shifting documents from the police to the CPS, to the court appears to be creaking, causing a lot of delays. The freezing temperature in the court did not improve our patience either.
We had to allow a couple of breathers for lawyers to look up the ins-and-outs of some newish law. Then it was away by about 4.15.
I must have upset someone, because I am also on the rota for New Year's Day. Ho-Hum. That's another year.
I have always thought that " prostitution " - the exchange of sexual services for money - was not illegal ; whilst some associated activity eg " soliciting " was .
ReplyDeleteAm I mistaken ?
I think you are right. She was charged with loitering or some such (IIRC sexual offences act of the 1950s)
ReplyDeleteNot sure how 'importance' might be assessed in Mags Court lists, but would argue that in some respects these might be the most important of the whole year.
ReplyDelete