I've described before that it took a while to wrap my head around the idea of a suspended prison sentence - I really did not understand why someone who deserves prison shouldn't go to prison.
I learned though that it's in Society's best interest sometimes that people are punished in the community while they get cured of addiction or take care of their dependents.
So what happens when someone on a suspended sentence messes up again - straight forward, no ? They go to prison, right ?
Well actually, it's not totally inevitable. They may be doing well on the substance treatment program and their families may still not be able to survive without them. There is the option to simply add on some extra punishment and give them a last-last chance to sort themselves out.
I'm definitely not convinced about this one. I'm all for giving people a chance but when you've given someone a last chance and they don't take advantage of it then I think that prison is all you've got left. Otherwise what are the chances of anyone taking a suspended sentence seriously?
I had a chance to test this opinion recently - young man with a baby with his partner who also acts as father to her toddler. Was lucky to get a suspended sentence last time for multiple burglaries, now in front of us for trying the doors of parked cars at 3 a.m miles from his house.
Defence solicitor told us in some detail that his partner had a broken leg and she couldn't look after the children properly without him. The children may have to go into the care system for the duration of the father's sentence.
Sounds pretty grim, but its the defence's job to make it easy for us to keep their clients out of prison and they often lay it on thick. In reality a broken leg wouldn't stop me looking after my children and there are such things as grandparents and aunts and uncles.
So we sent him away - the family and friends didn't believe it at first and then were extremely cross. One of them even gave us a Nazi salute which I suppose we should have done something about.
This brought us to lunchtime - I walked the chairman out to his car in case they were waiting for us out the back and then went for to the sandwich shop.
I returned to find my fellow winger in tears "What have we done to those children !"
First time I've had to comfort a magistrate, but I managed it. Basically I pointed out that we've done nothing to these children - what kind of a father was he at 3 a.m in the town-centre knowing that he was risking jail? Our job is to enforce the law and the children will, one way or another, be taken care of.
That night I slept fine, by the way. It's not pleasant but someone has to make these hard decisions or else thieves will continue to thieve. And if that means some kids have to lose their criminal daddy for a few months then I'm afraid that's the way it has to be.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Friday, April 06, 2012
Asleep
This week a Magistrate was alleged to have fallen asleep during a trial. Worse, it seems he was caught bang-to-rights by the defence solicitor. Poor guy - suddenly his years of service count for nought and this is what he'll likely be remembered for.
Leaving aside the innocent-until-proven-guilty assumption that seems to have been suspended here, it's a tragedy that a momentary lack of concentration should end up with a good man being pilloried across the Mail, the Telegraph and all his local papers.
I've never come close to falling asleep in court. Sure, my mind has wandered a little. We're only human : we have no special abilities or training which allows us to keep a Zen-like focus for hours on end in an airless courthouse, no matter how enthralling the solicitors might be. And boy, some of those solicitor are far from enthralling.
You hear quite often in reports of football games that a player or a team "lost concentration" during a game. For example Jose Mourinho recently said that "(Real Madrid) ... lost a bit of concentration in the second-half ". If one of the best teams in the world can drift off collectively in the heat of battle then it's something that can happen to anyone.
So to summarise : we Magistrates take on a difficult job for no money or thanks and if we mess up even slightly then we can expect public ridicule. Put like that, you wonder why anyone would want to become a Magistrate. Or a football referee.
My top tip : when my focus drifts, I start taking detailed notes. It's impossible as far as I know to fall asleep while writing. Not sure what football referees do,
Leaving aside the innocent-until-proven-guilty assumption that seems to have been suspended here, it's a tragedy that a momentary lack of concentration should end up with a good man being pilloried across the Mail, the Telegraph and all his local papers.
I've never come close to falling asleep in court. Sure, my mind has wandered a little. We're only human : we have no special abilities or training which allows us to keep a Zen-like focus for hours on end in an airless courthouse, no matter how enthralling the solicitors might be. And boy, some of those solicitor are far from enthralling.
You hear quite often in reports of football games that a player or a team "lost concentration" during a game. For example Jose Mourinho recently said that "(Real Madrid) ... lost a bit of concentration in the second-half ". If one of the best teams in the world can drift off collectively in the heat of battle then it's something that can happen to anyone.
So to summarise : we Magistrates take on a difficult job for no money or thanks and if we mess up even slightly then we can expect public ridicule. Put like that, you wonder why anyone would want to become a Magistrate. Or a football referee.
My top tip : when my focus drifts, I start taking detailed notes. It's impossible as far as I know to fall asleep while writing. Not sure what football referees do,
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Fabrice Muamba
In case you went to Neptune for the weekend and missed this story, Bolton Wanderers' midfielder Fabrice Muamba is currently unconscious in hospital after a sudden cardiac arrest on the pitch during a cup game against Spurs.
You don't have to be a Bolton Wanderers fan to feel for him, but my goodness it helps.
Only Bolton fans have seen how much he has developed since he arrived three seasons ago and will have speculated how good he'll be in another three seasons. Only Bolton fans will have regularly seen just how much work he puts even into games that everyone else seems to have abandoned.
Only Bolton fans will be aware of just how fit the guy was. In better teams, the defensive midfielders are often spectators - Yaya Toure at Manchester City could get his iphone out and check his email during some of their one-sided games, so little are his skills needed. It's a different matter when you're in a relegation dogfight and your job is to stop the likes of David Silva from doing what he does well. For a full 90 minutes. Running over 7 miles in the process. In other words, Fabrice was properly fit.
Much has written about his role as a defensive rock, but my favourite Fabrice moments are when he goes on the attack.
You see, the opposing players recognise him as a big defensive midfield "enforcer" and he runs like a big man in a hurry - so they don't expect him to rush forward. When he takes advantage of the element of surprise and barrels past them, I love to see the look of panic on their faces and maybe the thought going through their heads : "Oh. Er. Is he actually allowed to do that ??" There have been quite a few poor Bolton performance rendered watchable by Fabrice-moments such as these.
But you don't need to be a Bolton fan to be stunned close to tears by what has happened to him. Just think that he's 23 - talented, literate, funny and professional in a sense that isn't common in "professional" footballers. Think that he's a new father with an enormous amount to give to the world and his young family.
I'm not a believer in jinxes, but I couldn't bear to write any of this piece in the past tense. Here's hoping that I'll have a lot more to write about him in the present and future tenses real soon.
Meanwhile, I hope that he and the people close to him realise just how many people who have been touched by his work are now cheering him on.
You don't have to be a Bolton Wanderers fan to feel for him, but my goodness it helps.
Only Bolton fans have seen how much he has developed since he arrived three seasons ago and will have speculated how good he'll be in another three seasons. Only Bolton fans will have regularly seen just how much work he puts even into games that everyone else seems to have abandoned.
Only Bolton fans will be aware of just how fit the guy was. In better teams, the defensive midfielders are often spectators - Yaya Toure at Manchester City could get his iphone out and check his email during some of their one-sided games, so little are his skills needed. It's a different matter when you're in a relegation dogfight and your job is to stop the likes of David Silva from doing what he does well. For a full 90 minutes. Running over 7 miles in the process. In other words, Fabrice was properly fit.
Much has written about his role as a defensive rock, but my favourite Fabrice moments are when he goes on the attack.
You see, the opposing players recognise him as a big defensive midfield "enforcer" and he runs like a big man in a hurry - so they don't expect him to rush forward. When he takes advantage of the element of surprise and barrels past them, I love to see the look of panic on their faces and maybe the thought going through their heads : "Oh. Er. Is he actually allowed to do that ??" There have been quite a few poor Bolton performance rendered watchable by Fabrice-moments such as these.
But you don't need to be a Bolton fan to be stunned close to tears by what has happened to him. Just think that he's 23 - talented, literate, funny and professional in a sense that isn't common in "professional" footballers. Think that he's a new father with an enormous amount to give to the world and his young family.
I'm not a believer in jinxes, but I couldn't bear to write any of this piece in the past tense. Here's hoping that I'll have a lot more to write about him in the present and future tenses real soon.
Meanwhile, I hope that he and the people close to him realise just how many people who have been touched by his work are now cheering him on.
Friday, March 16, 2012
New Year's Resolution Update
Gym : decided against it after really not enjoying their free taster session. Maybe I'm getting old, but the music's too loud, there's not enough air and it smells bad. Decided instead that I would get my exercise walking everywhere - which has been a massive success. On a good day I'll walk the four miles from Waterloo to Marylebone with my two laptops in my rucksack and then walk back at night. On a very good day I'll do that and also walk the three miles up Primrose Hill and back in my lunchhour. Costs me nothing and calms me down. Result.
French : coming to the end of the set of classes I started in January and I've enjoyed clearing the tumbleweed from my mind and I am now nearly as fluent in the language as I was at school, which isn't saying a great deal. In fact, in some ways I'm better off because for one thing I actually understand the difference between the imperfect and perfect past tenses now. The teacher is excellent, the teaching materials are perfect and the fellow students are an entertaining bunch that includes a legendary journalist, a South American diplomat, a satellite TV sports presenter and such a varied range of others that you would accuse me of having made them up if I told you.
In other news, I've been snapping up the cheapest possible tickets for whatever's on at the theatres in London. Highlight of this would be the £10 I spent on a side-on bench in the Gods at the Old Vic to see "Noises Off". Even with a restricted view (and the kind of stress-position popular with interrogators) it had me literally doubled up with laughter (and I'm a stickler for using "literally" correctly). I'm not usually a fan of farce or any kind of physical comedy, but this play just hit me right on the funny bone. Worth splashing out on a full-price ticket when it transfers to the West End.
Life is good - enjoying my time in court, learning to love London, and Mrs Stan and Stanetta are doing well. The only thing that would improve my quality of life would be for BBC4 to screen some more of those uncannily brilliant Danish drama series - I'm utterly hooked. Længe leve Birgitte Nyborg! Længe leve Sarah Lund!
French : coming to the end of the set of classes I started in January and I've enjoyed clearing the tumbleweed from my mind and I am now nearly as fluent in the language as I was at school, which isn't saying a great deal. In fact, in some ways I'm better off because for one thing I actually understand the difference between the imperfect and perfect past tenses now. The teacher is excellent, the teaching materials are perfect and the fellow students are an entertaining bunch that includes a legendary journalist, a South American diplomat, a satellite TV sports presenter and such a varied range of others that you would accuse me of having made them up if I told you.
In other news, I've been snapping up the cheapest possible tickets for whatever's on at the theatres in London. Highlight of this would be the £10 I spent on a side-on bench in the Gods at the Old Vic to see "Noises Off". Even with a restricted view (and the kind of stress-position popular with interrogators) it had me literally doubled up with laughter (and I'm a stickler for using "literally" correctly). I'm not usually a fan of farce or any kind of physical comedy, but this play just hit me right on the funny bone. Worth splashing out on a full-price ticket when it transfers to the West End.
Life is good - enjoying my time in court, learning to love London, and Mrs Stan and Stanetta are doing well. The only thing that would improve my quality of life would be for BBC4 to screen some more of those uncannily brilliant Danish drama series - I'm utterly hooked. Længe leve Birgitte Nyborg! Længe leve Sarah Lund!
Monday, February 06, 2012
Your Word Against Mine
In an ideal world, there are no crimes.
In a slightly less ideal world, every crime would be witnessed by at least one sober, independent witness with perfect eyesight and a photographic memory.
In our don't-get-me-started-just-how-not ideal world, we often only have the victim's word to go on.
This makes it difficult to establish the truth beyond reasonable doubt.
It's a particular problem with Domestic Violence cases where almost by definition the offence is committed out of the public glare.
In the bad old days there would be no chance of a conviction - "it's just your word against his" - which is why historically so many abuse, domestic violence and rape cases never even made it to court.
Nowadays things do seem to have improved. More such cases are coming to court and convictions are possible without in any way diluting the absolute commitment to "proof beyond reasonable doubt".
This can only happen though when the accused's story is so full of holes and so internally inconsistent that there's no way that anything they say can be believed.
It also helps the prosecutor make the case when the accused is arrogant and hostile. It's hard to be an angry smart-alec while keeping your pack of lies consistent under expert questioning. In one recent case, the prosecutor said that if you were to believe his story, the accused must have "the reflexes of Spiderman". The accused nodded and said yeah - twelve years in the army - reflexes of Spiderman. Hmmm.
Today was a strange day - I gave Spiderman a community penalty.
In a slightly less ideal world, every crime would be witnessed by at least one sober, independent witness with perfect eyesight and a photographic memory.
In our don't-get-me-started-just-how-not ideal world, we often only have the victim's word to go on.
This makes it difficult to establish the truth beyond reasonable doubt.
It's a particular problem with Domestic Violence cases where almost by definition the offence is committed out of the public glare.
In the bad old days there would be no chance of a conviction - "it's just your word against his" - which is why historically so many abuse, domestic violence and rape cases never even made it to court.
Nowadays things do seem to have improved. More such cases are coming to court and convictions are possible without in any way diluting the absolute commitment to "proof beyond reasonable doubt".
This can only happen though when the accused's story is so full of holes and so internally inconsistent that there's no way that anything they say can be believed.
It also helps the prosecutor make the case when the accused is arrogant and hostile. It's hard to be an angry smart-alec while keeping your pack of lies consistent under expert questioning. In one recent case, the prosecutor said that if you were to believe his story, the accused must have "the reflexes of Spiderman". The accused nodded and said yeah - twelve years in the army - reflexes of Spiderman. Hmmm.
Today was a strange day - I gave Spiderman a community penalty.
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