tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2727871367480602637.post6687206461686139518..comments2023-07-10T10:57:18.522+01:00Comments on The Magistrates' Blog: It's Murder Out ThereBystander http://www.blogger.com/profile/10211688955428527960noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2727871367480602637.post-25224158855984776742015-11-16T08:40:11.328+00:002015-11-16T08:40:11.328+00:00I would think there would be an uproar in my local...I would think there would be an uproar in my local justice area if DJs were told they had to sit on a Saturday morning!! <br /><br />I always look forward to a Saturday morning sitting. Usually lots of variety, with no council tax courts , dog mess or litter and no feet-on-seats or fare dodgers to process. It also helps with not having to take time away from work.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2727871367480602637.post-30445445771294881542015-11-15T19:41:06.835+00:002015-11-15T19:41:06.835+00:00I remember seeing a murder-defendant one Saturday ...I remember seeing a murder-defendant one Saturday morning when we could still grant bail, and we heard that there was going to be an applciation. The deceased and the defendant were of the same ethnic origin and so were the fifteen stern-visaged young men in the public seats.<br /><br />The defendant was brought up from the cells - looked round the court - summoned his brief - spoke to him for a moment - and there was no application for bail.<br /><br />I think he felt safer where he was. The clerk told me later that he would not have got out of the precincts alive.Andrew Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17273362558325263161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2727871367480602637.post-27565558823651280422015-11-14T12:01:13.899+00:002015-11-14T12:01:13.899+00:00You challenge that with your JC. No reason to excl...You challenge that with your JC. No reason to exclude you from Saturdays.Too old JP.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02851367026495221466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2727871367480602637.post-14527756932275056752015-11-14T10:34:22.200+00:002015-11-14T10:34:22.200+00:00I did the same five minutes on a murder many years...I did the same five minutes on a murder many years age, a Saturday night drunken moment of stupidity, and I will never forget the ashen, totally sober faces of the young men involved that cold Monday morning, in a courtroom filled with the weeping relatives and friends of both victim and accused.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2727871367480602637.post-45035241370899681492015-11-14T09:51:05.578+00:002015-11-14T09:51:05.578+00:00I have had six murder cases passing through my cou...I have had six murder cases passing through my court over last decade, most memorably a Monday-morning two-hander which attracted a half-dozen national newspaper reporters and their briefs putting forward legal arguments as to why we should not make a Section 49 reporting restriction not to name one of the accused whose name had been splashed all over the Sunday newspapers. The process took more than two hours, with the accused sitting in the dock, and yes, we still made the order.Jaguarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2727871367480602637.post-29967449358440971782015-11-13T22:05:05.111+00:002015-11-13T22:05:05.111+00:00I can well remember the morning - a little over 10...I can well remember the morning - a little over 10 years ago when in one courtroom in our smallish provincial town we saw three separate murder cases come before us. Two of the accused came in and left by the public door - they were on bail pending committal. Very unusual but it illustrates Bystander's point about how much more involvement we had with such serious cases in the past.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2727871367480602637.post-16263141086193777482015-11-13T08:49:02.234+00:002015-11-13T08:49:02.234+00:00We are not permitted to do Saturday Courts anymore...We are not permitted to do Saturday Courts anymore - only DJs in our area. SouthLondon JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2727871367480602637.post-28777581508934444342015-11-12T16:09:23.662+00:002015-11-12T16:09:23.662+00:00There is absolutely no reason for it to go before ...There is absolutely no reason for it to go before a DJ and for the court lists to be altered and the DJs know that as well. I had similar some years ago on a Saturday morning and we had a 'circus' of press and TV for the appearance. All over in 3 minutes and we all went home.Too old JP.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02851367026495221466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2727871367480602637.post-50725880017173571372015-11-12T09:41:26.028+00:002015-11-12T09:41:26.028+00:00Whilst we might be considered competent to decide ...Whilst we might be considered competent to decide on bail in anything other than a murder case, we don't even have to make that decision any longer but what's the betting it goes before a DJ, and not a bench?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com