tennis coach cleared of rape

[Pervert]

Not aggresive, Magoo---just passionate, and rightly so. And I agree about how the system works in comparison with many other countries.

[Pervert]

Night, mate!

I'm going to leave the tap running---it drives Woody mad.

[jj]

Of your 3 named examples, weren't 2 of them lawyers once? OK, one was presumably not a very good one, but even Their Glorious Leader has a law degree (written in crayon, probably).
Anyway, that first para was basically what I was saying above- I despise overt political interference in the judiciary as much as you, but that shouldn't excuse it from reforming from within.
The Law at the top mirrors its political rival- crony-ridden, full of restrictive practices, slow to adapt, and arrogant in its power and superiority. The basic tenets underlying our system I wholeheartedly agree with, but my God, it could do with a shake-up in terms of efficiency and accountability. A system that can take years to process even the simplest case is in deep trouble.

[colin]

i was not assuming the man was guilty, i was raising the question of whether prior offences should be made available to the jury. however, the fact that this man has admitted to underage sex sets a pattern of behaviour which a prosecution lawyer should be allowed to raise in court. also, it seems very strange that this man only coached young girls, never coaching boys or older children!

[jj]

The raising of past history (for both defendant and plaintiff), either criminal or general, is tendentious at best, unjust at worst: the defendant is on trial for the crime of which he is accused- his whole life is NOT, however reprehensibly-spent it may have been. If the evidence is insufficient to achieve a conviction on its own that is a matter for the prosecution to remedy, rhather than for them to resort to the sort of tactics best confined to our sleazier tabloids.
You might be grateful one day, if you find yourself in court wrongly accused of theft, not to have a barrister point out to the jury that you had no less than three times, when aged six, been caught stealing sweets, and that this obviously demonstrated a pattern of behaviour that has led to your appearance in court today.........
A silly example, true, but it gets the point across. Thin ends and wedges.....

[steve56]

new balls please.

[steve56]

bill wyman got away with it,she was 14 wasnt she?mandy smith?,i fancied her mum meself.