Jury service

[bell 3,606]

3 minutes ago, DIDO.1 said:

2 years now, they can also find guilty and then send to crown for sentencing. I find judges more out of touch. Over simplified maybe but I'd always recommend dressing smartly, looking a magistrate in the eye and talking to them honestly.

Talking to them honestly , hmmmmm, not sure about that mate...they wouldn’t be in court if they were honest 

[chartpolski 24,391]

23 minutes ago, DIDO.1 said:

I think it's changed

If he selected trail by jury in a crown court for a pack of bacon then he was costing the tax payer a huge amount just to be a nuisance I reckon.

Not doubting you but don't think it can happen now

I'm talking well over 40 years ago, and I know for a fact it happened. My brother is known as "Red Pete" as he worked for the council all his working life, and was a shop steward and a union convener, ( I must have neglected his education as I worked abroad most of my life !! ), how it came in front of a jury, I don't know, but my brother was appalled that such a trivial case could come so far ! But I DO know it happened

 

[Nicepix 5,650]

1 minute ago, chartpolski said:

I'm talking well over 40 years ago, and I know for a fact it happened. My brother is known as "Red Pete" as he worked for the council all his working life, and was a shop steward and a union convener, ( I must have neglected his education as I worked abroad most of my life !! ), how it came in front of a jury, I don't know, but my brother was appalled that such a trivial case could come so far ! But I DO know it happened

 

I came across a few OAP shoplifters. There was no doubt as to the intent when cctv was examined.

One had been suspected for weeks so they filmed him every time he came in to the shop. Then when the store detective caught him he played the confused geriatric card. So the store manager played the 8 previous visits recorded on cctv card. And just to top it off he'd got a gross indecency offence that he hadn't declared to his wife of forty years. Whooops!

[chartpolski 24,391]

26 minutes ago, jok said:

Slightly of subject. Got caught red handed with a number of salmon. Went to the court. No jury. No predujice. Just the biggest fine handed down to anyone in Scotland. The Sherriff owned the water. Justice. Jok.

I was done around 50 years ago for "trespass in pursuit of game or coney " 

One of the three magistrates was the land owner of the land I'd been accused of poaching on !

As soon as I entered the court, he leant over and asked the clerk of the court what the maximum sentence was !!

A couple of minutes later I was guilty and £30 lighter in my pocket ! !

Cheers.

[Stavross 16,082]

1 hour ago, WILF said:

I had arrests for affray and stuff but it never stopped me getting an FAC and a SGC, it was well in the past and the FAO said don’t worry about it…..I’d imagine if they give people like me an FAC then they let most people do jury service. 

They pretty much let anyone do dury service, as long as conviction’s are spent and you haven’t done a big stretch or something grim, when I was a young’un my arrest record was nuts, filling out my SGC and FAC took ages but they took it for what it was and I was granted both, I’ve done jury service twice and been forman of the jury both times, last time I managed to convince 7 others to find a young lad not guilty who was looking at at least a 5 stretch and definitely didn’t deserve to go to jail, it’s a good feeling standing up in court and delivering a not guilty verdict when you know it’s the right thing, the poor lads legs give way on him and he mouthed thank you to me, he thought he was going to jail

[jok 3,322]

Well Charts. The buggers took my car, any belongings within the car, the salmon and to be fair a bit of my dignity not having been caught for quite a few years haha. I don’t actually remember the fine but it was huge for that time. They missed two fish which I retrieved and sold in the local hostelry so not all bad. Jok.

[Nicepix 5,650]

3 minutes ago, jok said:

Well Charts. The buggers took my car, any belongings within the car, the salmon and to be fair a bit of my dignity not having been caught for quite a few years haha. I don’t actually remember the fine but it was huge for that time. They missed two fish which I retrieved and sold in the local hostelry so not all bad. Jok.

You're not telling me that two missed fish even nearly made up for the loss of your car, contents and the resultant fine. Let alone your tarnished  reputation. 

[jok 3,322]

No mate. Just making light of a situation. When I think back it was quite a comedy. Jok.

[Nicepix 5,650]

2 minutes ago, jok said:

No mate. Just making light of a situation. When I think back it was quite a comedy. Jok.

Its like when we used to catch the coal thieves from Grimethorpe Colliery (the one the film Brassed Off was featured) it was all play acting. Like a soap opera. We'd go through the motions then drop them off at home, tip the stolen coal into some random old folk's coal bunker and then if they went not out in court we'd have to recover the evidence. One sack of coal looked pretty much like another. They'd order a suit from the wife's catalogue for the court appearance then send it back the next day. After the court case we'd tip another couple of sacks  of coal into a random old folk's coal bunker. And so on and so on..............

[mC HULL 13,328]

53 minutes ago, DIDO.1 said:

I'm studying law in my spare time....I'm not saying I'm correct but it's as I see it...

You simply cannot get 18 month for shoplifting at all. Maybe in years past....but then you could dunk your wife in the village pond for gossiping years ago as well.

In my experience magistrates, today, in the ones I have observed, haven't been that way and in the vast majority of cases I could see their reasons and thought process. 

you can mate if your a repeat offender 

[WILF 47,469]

54 minutes ago, Moocher71 said:

Depends on value and your convictions and of course if you want fair trial as your not getting fair one in magistrate Court 

I disagree with that, me and my pals gave evidence in Magistrates court after a couple of coppers tried to do a number on a pal of ours……now we was young, very early 20s males who I don’t suppose looked like Boy Scouts but fair play…..we told them the story which was basically that the cozzers were liars who just wanted to give our pal aggro and they listened and were polite (as were we) and they threw it out.

[jok 3,322]

This subject is so off target but interesting never the less. A mate of mine has had a look at a diary which was found in the cellar of a house in Melbourne , Derbs. One of the many transcripts was of a guy who was flogged in the market square for wearing a hat beyond his distinction. There are many more. Jok.

[DIDO.1 22,845]

3 minutes ago, mC HULL said:

you can mate if your a repeat offender 

Yeah....if lots of other things come into play....previous, committed while on another sentence or licence etc. My point was, today, you aren't going to get 18 month for A PACK OF BACON or A KITKAT . From what I've seen,in life and in court....the full story never matches the headline .

[j j m 6,555]

done it years ago bloody shop lifting case at crown court

[DIDO.1 22,845]

1 minute ago, jok said:

This subject is so off target but interesting never the less. A mate of mine has had a look at a diary which was found in the cellar of a house in Melbourne , Derbs. One of the many transcripts was of a guy who was flogged in the market square for wearing a hat beyond his distinction. There are many more. Jok.

At last a sentence we can all agreed with.....