Thursday, September 06, 2007
Interesting Use of Fixed Penalty
This is an interesting one. I wonder what the magistrates will make of it?
Another One Bites The Dust
Here's another case of someone who doesn't quite seem cut out for a life of crime.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Official Prison Numbers
Here are the just-released figures for the prison population. It's one for the nerds, I'm afraid, and the report admits that the margin for error is wide, but it's worth a look.
Help Needed
I have been trying to look up the case law on the question of bail following a guilty plea in the mags' court where the bench commit to Crown Court for sentence. The CPS site refers to R -v- Coe (1968) 53 Cr App R 66. Can anybody point me to this one?
Later - I am grateful for the helpful and prompt reply.
What do the lawyers on here think is the position where D pleads guilty to an either way offence that is way over summary powers (tariff circa 3-4 years) and JJs decide to commit for sentence? D applies for bail. Being post conviction, does he have any presumption of a right to bail, or is is a matter for the bench?
Later - I am grateful for the helpful and prompt reply.
What do the lawyers on here think is the position where D pleads guilty to an either way offence that is way over summary powers (tariff circa 3-4 years) and JJs decide to commit for sentence? D applies for bail. Being post conviction, does he have any presumption of a right to bail, or is is a matter for the bench?
Phew!
I have had a busy couple of weeks. During the holiday peak season many colleagues are away, and if need be I will volunteer to cover vacancies. In addition I had previously agreed to do a Crown Court appeals sitting, and one case ran over the day and I had to go back for another go at finishing it.
One case, a Special Reasons hearing on a drink drive, was interesting not so much for the legal side, as we had little difficulty in deciding it, but for the fact that the defendant had previously been front-page news in the tabloids, and that the SR arguments placed before us included alleged bad behaviour by a TV personality. So I am sorry to be a tease, but that's all I can say about it. There were no press in court (there rarely are) for a story that would certainly have excited the interest of a red-top.
We heard a Racially Aggravated Assault case and I was reminded that most such cases that I see are Hindu-on Muslim, or Black on Asian, or Sikh-on-Hindu, or any one of the myriad combinations of racial conflict that are possible in a diverse area. Casting my mind back, the only one I have seen in recent years involving a white defendant was a man who was rude to a Welshman. I wrote about it here.
One of our regular customers, a surly youth of 18 who has just joined the grown-ups after a lengthy career appearing in the Youth Court, was unable to resist the temptation to brick the side window of a car that had been parked with a sat-nav visible on the windscreen, and make off with the gadget. Unfortunately for him the visible sat-nav was too good to be true as the police had left the car there, fully wired with cameras.
We are seeing more and more Proceeds of Crime Act applications to detain and, eventually, to forfeit cash that police have seized, and the amounts are getting lower. Just a thousand or two is quite common now, whereas a couple of years ago we never saw much less than £10,000. My personal record was over £3 million some years ago, but that's another story.
What a fascinating job this is!
One case, a Special Reasons hearing on a drink drive, was interesting not so much for the legal side, as we had little difficulty in deciding it, but for the fact that the defendant had previously been front-page news in the tabloids, and that the SR arguments placed before us included alleged bad behaviour by a TV personality. So I am sorry to be a tease, but that's all I can say about it. There were no press in court (there rarely are) for a story that would certainly have excited the interest of a red-top.
We heard a Racially Aggravated Assault case and I was reminded that most such cases that I see are Hindu-on Muslim, or Black on Asian, or Sikh-on-Hindu, or any one of the myriad combinations of racial conflict that are possible in a diverse area. Casting my mind back, the only one I have seen in recent years involving a white defendant was a man who was rude to a Welshman. I wrote about it here.
One of our regular customers, a surly youth of 18 who has just joined the grown-ups after a lengthy career appearing in the Youth Court, was unable to resist the temptation to brick the side window of a car that had been parked with a sat-nav visible on the windscreen, and make off with the gadget. Unfortunately for him the visible sat-nav was too good to be true as the police had left the car there, fully wired with cameras.
We are seeing more and more Proceeds of Crime Act applications to detain and, eventually, to forfeit cash that police have seized, and the amounts are getting lower. Just a thousand or two is quite common now, whereas a couple of years ago we never saw much less than £10,000. My personal record was over £3 million some years ago, but that's another story.
What a fascinating job this is!
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
That's a Relief!
The Daily Mail reports that
A student who was facing a career-wrecking criminal conviction for putting her feet on a train seat walked free from court today.
Kathleen Jennings, 19, wiped tears from her eyes as she was given an absolute discharge by JPs at Chester Magistrates' Court.
I was so relieved to see that she walked free from court, as I was terrified that those nasty old JPs would send her to prison.
As they say in America: Puh-leeze!
She has still got a conviction, by the way, contrary to the impression given in the Mail article. I wonder if they took her DNA? Probably not, since she wasn't arrested. At least she didn't have to pay the absurd victim surcharge.
Monday, September 03, 2007
A Bit of Perspective
Like most magistrates I am often asked to countersign documents such as applications for passports, driving licences, shotgun certificates and the like. It's part of the job, and I am happy to help.
The other day I agreed to sign something for a Chinese national (who has full right to be in the UK) and when I arrived, pen and spectacles to hand, I was surprised to be taken on one side by her English housemate. "You ought to know" he said, "I had to stop her from going out to buy you a present half an hour ago". I was halfway towards asking why when the penny dropped. In China, as in so many parts of the world, if you want an official to do any service, however small, a present is expected, its value dependent on the importance of the matter in hand.
I laughed it off and settled for a cold glass of beer, but it did remind me that Britain is one of the least corrupt countries in the whole world, and that I am very proud of that fact.
The other day I agreed to sign something for a Chinese national (who has full right to be in the UK) and when I arrived, pen and spectacles to hand, I was surprised to be taken on one side by her English housemate. "You ought to know" he said, "I had to stop her from going out to buy you a present half an hour ago". I was halfway towards asking why when the penny dropped. In China, as in so many parts of the world, if you want an official to do any service, however small, a present is expected, its value dependent on the importance of the matter in hand.
I laughed it off and settled for a cold glass of beer, but it did remind me that Britain is one of the least corrupt countries in the whole world, and that I am very proud of that fact.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Two Viewpoints on Heroin
The Times has an interesting article giving two contrasting views on heroin addiction. Theodore Dalrymple's view, towards the end of the article, is one that I have read before; it challenges the conventional wisdom about how to deal with the drug and its consequences. His views are worthy of consideration, since he is a psychiatrist and a prison doctor of long experience.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Screw Driver
We had to wait until 2 pm today to deal with an in-custody case because the defendant had been shipped up to Lincoln yesterday on account of the prison strike, and had to be brought back today. Not cheap, that.
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