tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post8739791557103482970..comments2024-03-29T11:13:00.338+00:00Comments on Ambush Predator: This Is Why We Should Never Get Rid Of Jury Service...JuliaMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07844126589712842477noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-91897361929938960662009-11-13T08:57:00.189+00:002009-11-13T08:57:00.189+00:00Surely his best plan would have been to not pay hi...Surely his best plan would have been to not pay his council tax. The grounds being that he was not getting any 'service' from the Police Service.<br />QEDMalthebofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03503702120391804624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-46271422961834075542009-11-13T07:57:41.899+00:002009-11-13T07:57:41.899+00:00"The normal people behave themselves on their...<i>"The normal people behave themselves on their estate and the "yobs" end up in what is effectively an open prison. Preferably in the middle of Dartmoor."</i> <br /><br />What a cracking idea! Didn't the Dutch try this out, with housing made of shipping containers?<br /><br /><i>"Hm, one wrong does not make the other ok, remember, this is paid for by all of us..."</i> <br /><br />True, and setting fire to your own house is a pretty stupid method of conflict resolution, but in this case, I'm happy to bear the cost. The importance of having an option for redress is too great.<br /><br /><i>"When Labour got rid of the right to jury trial for some cases, it just showed how useless our monarch is in terms of protecting us."</i> <br /><br />Yup. Just a figurehead to bring in tourist dollars now, sadly...JuliaMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07844126589712842477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-49551080974526620412009-11-13T07:54:28.455+00:002009-11-13T07:54:28.455+00:00"No doubt the yobs were of no interest to the...<i>"No doubt the yobs were of no interest to the police as they had already met their 'arresting yobs' quota."</i> <br /><br />Indeed! This case has echoes of Fiona Pilkington about it...<br /><br /><i>"Given a choice between criminal equity and democracy, I would feel safer with the former."</i> <br /><br />Me too. The push to abolish juries for 'lesser offences' was one of the first signs of the creeping authoritarianism that we would get from this government.<br /><br /><i>"Maybe a legal eagle reading can tell me why this was heard in Isleworth Middlesex, when we have perfectly good Crown Courts in Kent..."</i> <br /><br />Hmm, odd, that. Unless they thought there was an element of potential for jury knowledge of this man? But as you say, iunlike in the US, this never seems to figure as a concern in UK trials.JuliaMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07844126589712842477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-71988159644768592172009-11-12T21:04:47.554+00:002009-11-12T21:04:47.554+00:00Yup. I've already decided that if I was on a j...Yup. I've already decided that if I was on a jury for a drug dealer that I would point out to the rest of the jury what jury nullification is and would utterly refuse to find them guilty of drug dealing.<br /><br />When Labour got rid of the right to jury trial for some cases, it just showed how useless our monarch is in terms of protecting us.Tim Almondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13369256383976094670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-49879446100096691452009-11-12T17:48:01.629+00:002009-11-12T17:48:01.629+00:00Good on you, sir! I wish many more would do the s...Good on you, sir! I wish many more would do the same kind of thing - thank you.nnemo_sumnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-57718566965169333522009-11-12T15:42:46.687+00:002009-11-12T15:42:46.687+00:00Hm, one wrong does not make the other ok, remember...Hm, one wrong does not make the other ok, remember, this is paid for by all of us, the council jobsworths don't care either way, they file this sort of thing as 'entertainment'.<br /><br />As for the rest, whilst I have sympathy for his plight, setting your home on fire is plain stupid.<br /><br />I'd rather have rented it out to another set of chavvy chaos merchants, or old it.<br /><br />The entire story sounds like a not too bright guy got trolled into doing stupid things...<br /><br />(I however agree on the jury service, with some caveats, for a number of reasons). I'd swap juries for elected judges I think.Fat Hennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-91960378068905764712009-11-12T13:57:38.667+00:002009-11-12T13:57:38.667+00:00Yes, I'd read this one and wondered how it had...Yes, I'd read this one and wondered how it had ended up. there, but for the grace ...James Highamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14525082702330365464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-59373064234036643932009-11-12T13:49:01.343+00:002009-11-12T13:49:01.343+00:00Good for him, but the wider point must be that cou...Good for him, but the wider point must be that council estates could be segregated into some for "yobs" and some for "normal people".<br /><br />I'm sure there's a nice-ish estate somewhere with only one 'problem family', so they could make that family swap places with Mr Mitchell, and so on, problem solved, everybody's happy. <br /><br />The normal people behave themselves on their estate and the "yobs" end up in what is effectively an open prison. Preferably in the middle of Dartmoor.Mark Wadsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07733511175178098449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-84588350168439827132009-11-12T13:45:54.924+00:002009-11-12T13:45:54.924+00:00Maybe a legal eagle reading can tell me why this w...Maybe a legal eagle reading can tell me why this was heard in Isleworth Middlesex, when we have perfectly good Crown Courts in Kent, and most cases in this area are heard at Southwark. <br /><br />I know in the US you can request a change of venue as a 'local' jury may be partisan to either the defence or prosecution. but can that happen here?Pavlov's Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15162563403722211352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-56509136570838691052009-11-12T13:33:35.684+00:002009-11-12T13:33:35.684+00:00Another argument for the possession of guns. You w...Another argument for the possession of guns. You would be amazed how much gunfire focuses the mind on going away.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-40342353534031448922009-11-12T10:44:19.970+00:002009-11-12T10:44:19.970+00:00Good for him, shame on the council and police for ...Good for him, shame on the council and police for driving him to such lengths.Quiet_Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09575652127079681825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-41495387791149863572009-11-12T10:40:45.147+00:002009-11-12T10:40:45.147+00:00In academic terms, this phenomenon is known as &qu...In academic terms, this phenomenon is known as "criminal equity" and before democracy it was one of the main ways that "the people" changed laws. The hated "game laws" of the 18th Century which applied the death penalty to starving people who ate the creatures reared for the aristocracy's sport, were only repealed because juries refused to convict at all, when the penalties were so outrageous.<br /><br />Given a choice between criminal equity and democracy, I would feel safer with the former. British democracy is beginning to feel - to productive taxpayers - rather like being robbed by a cheering mob of state dependents.Tom Painehttp://lastditch.typepad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-71973584645253684262009-11-12T09:14:28.923+00:002009-11-12T09:14:28.923+00:00No doubt the yobs were of no interest to the polic...No doubt the yobs were of no interest to the police as they had already met their 'arresting yobs' quota.Letters From A Toryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14612766550608940053noreply@blogger.com