Keira Knightley Gets It Right

It is reported in the Daily Telegraph, the the judge; sir Paul Coleridge, is praising Keira Knightley for her low key marriage ceremony.  Here’s the first bit of the article.

Sir Paul Coleridge said he hoped the marriage, which saw Miss Knightley, 28, driven from the wedding with her new husband in a Renault Clio and guests wearing flip flops, would encourage other young couples to get married without having to worry about spending thousands on lavish ceremonies.

Sir Paul, who has launched the Marriage Foundation, said he felt the costs of weddings in Britain had got out of hand recently, with the average price tag to tie the knot now £20,000.

I can remember C, who was a barrister specialising in sorting out the details of divorces, chuckling as she saw details of the latest celebrity wedding in the papers. often saying, “It won’t last!” I think she said that about the Beckhams, but it was the only case I can remember, where she was wrong.

Our own marriage was a small affair in 1968, on the only glorious day in an awful summer. As it lasted forty years, is there a lesson there?

The Largest Case C Ever Did!

I went to the retirement party in Ipswich, for a judge who was one of C’s best friends, in Ipswich tonight.

It was good to meet old friends and have a drink and some nibbles.

I was also introduced to someone, who as one of the Court Clerks, played a part in the largest case C ever did.

She would tell this story with gusto and lots of actions. I’m sure many who heard it,  didn’t believe all of the tale.

She always called the case, the Thorpeness Affray and although she didn’t do crime in the later part of her career, she was persuaded to defend someone in this case, which ook place at Ipswich Crown Court.

The size was enormous, in that there a hundred and eight defendants, which my informant said they split into two separate trials. I think once, she said the clerks were scraping the barrel, which is why she got roped in.

It became obvious that the dock wasn’t big enough, so it was decided that each defendant should have a number and these would be placed above their seat. Each of the barristers would carry a flag identifying their clients.

Concerns were raised, as this numbering might not be conducive to a fair trial.

The judge was the well-respected and mildy-eccentric Bertie Richards. He thought, that if the defendants were to be numbered, so should he as the judge.  So a number one was placed above where he sat.

At this point in the story, C would get all agitated and would make an action of holding up her flag and saying something like “Your Honour! I represent number 4!” Once the substitute flag in the telling, was a numbered wooden spoon in the restaurant of the pub, much to the delight of everyone.

What ever happened to her client, I can’t remember.  But tonight, I was told that many of the defendants, were part of a gang called the Bramfield Budgies. Bramfield is a village in Suffolk on the A12.

I think it is true to say that in the 1970s and 1980s, the conduct of justice was sometimes a little out of the ordinary.

More Spanish Practices

This story from the Daily Mail, asks if it is the biggest scandal in doping history. Even Andy Murray is laying into the row, as the first paragraphs say.

Andy Murray last night hit out at a Spanish judge who ordered evidence relating to one of the biggest doping rings in history to be destroyed.

Britain’s No 1 tennis player called the decision to dump more than 200 blood bags from stars in a number of sports as ‘the biggest  cover-up in sports history’ and said it was a ‘joke’.

Sometimes you think that there is one law for Spain and one law for everybody else.

A Judge Holds Himself In Contempt

I like this story from the Wall Street Journal.

it’s about a judge, who held himself in contempt of court, when his mobile phone rang.

Maryland Abolishes The Death Penalty

It was on the cards and it is reported here in the Guardian.

All it needs now is for the Governor to sign it into law.

Profits Before Health In New York

It would appear from this story about banning the sale of large sizes of fizzy drinks in New York, that American lawyers are on the side of corporate profits and really can’t care about the obesity and health of the American people.

As someone, who is built like the Aldgate Sphinx, and has always been like that, I have never understood obesity and why people get that way. My father was the same and it looks like my son is too! At least we could share clothes, if we wanted!

Nick “Loophole” Freeman On Chris Huhne

Nick Freeman aka Mr. Loophole has just pronounced on the Chris Huhne case on BBC Radio 5.

He said that in 2003, there was probably all sorts of errors in the summons and he could probably have got Huhne found not guilty.

You could say that he would say that wouldn’t he, but it does appear he usually gets his clients the result they want.

Perhaps, though Huhne didn’t want to employ a solicitor, who went to Uppingham School and whose father was in retail.

The Oscar Pistorius And Vicky Pryce Cases

These two cases going through the Courts in South Africa and London, are in my mind not news and it is wrong they lead the BBC News.

The first is a tragedy for everyone involved and the second is a bit of political tittle-tattle that is all about the breakdown of a marriage, which went a lot more than wrong.

Why is the BBC wasting my licence fee on these sort of stories?  The cases should be left to the tabloids.

The third story, the rise in the number of employed in the UK,should have led the News.  Jobs are much more important than gossip.

Jury Trials In South Africa

I was just listening to reports of the Oscar Pistorius case on the radio and was surprised to hear that there are no jury trials in South Africa. This explains, why much of the evidence against the athlete has been fully discussed in the media, as the case will be decided by a magistrate.

There’s more about juries in South Africa here. Juries were abolished in 1969, in the apartheid era.

Repeated Spam

When I cleaned out the spam in my blog, a few minutes ago, one of the most common bits of spam, I found was on this post about US sailors being drunk.

It was for various lawyers in Texas, who were offering their services for offences like drunk driving. As the chance, I’d get done for drunk driving in Texas, as much less than hell freezing over, someone is wasting their time and money.