http://heatherbrooke.org/2005/contempt-of-court-comment/ Heather Brooke is an award-winning writer, journalist and activist Sun, 29 Apr 2012 09:44:46 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://heatherbrooke.org/2005/contempt-of-court-comment/comment-page-1/#comment-9410 William Ford Fri, 15 Apr 2011 21:33:12 +0000 http://www.yrtk.org/2005/comment-in-the-independent/#comment-9410 So, in effect, I've just contravened the official secrets act and shown contempt for the court. Nothing will happen as a result, because the law is an ass(hole). So, in effect, I’ve just contravened the official secrets act and shown contempt for the court. Nothing will happen as a result, because the law is an ass(hole).

]]> http://heatherbrooke.org/2005/contempt-of-court-comment/comment-page-1/#comment-9409 William Ford Fri, 15 Apr 2011 21:31:47 +0000 http://www.yrtk.org/2005/comment-in-the-independent/#comment-9409 I've been on a jury. It's not legal for me to state, suggest or imply that regardless of what my intelligence told me about what was going on re the case being tried, the moment a defence barrister managed to destroy the credibility of a witness by asking her increasingly offensive leading questions that incrementally accused her of being a drunken whore, the jury were no longer allowed to let intelligence dictate the verdict, and instructed as to what verdict it was allowed to reach. Basically, criminal proceedings are theatre, and right and wrong has nothing to do with anything. So bleating about contempt of court is pointless while the courts have contempt for the intelligence, the reasoning capacity and humanity of jurors. All courts are interested in is whether procedure is followed, and right or wrong are irrelevant. I’ve been on a jury. It’s not legal for me to state, suggest or imply that regardless of what my intelligence told me about what was going on re the case being tried, the moment a defence barrister managed to destroy the credibility of a witness by asking her increasingly offensive leading questions that incrementally accused her of being a drunken whore, the jury were no longer allowed to let intelligence dictate the verdict, and instructed as to what verdict it was allowed to reach. Basically, criminal proceedings are theatre, and right and wrong has nothing to do with anything. So bleating about contempt of court is pointless while the courts have contempt for the intelligence, the reasoning capacity and humanity of jurors. All courts are interested in is whether procedure is followed, and right or wrong are irrelevant.

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