http://www.qando.net/ - Who needs a jury?

A yob accused of robbing a driving instructor walked free from court after a judge ruled his alleged victim was 'too believable' to give evidence.

Mother-of-two Denise Dawson, 36, was praised for being 'honest, utterly decent and brave' when she testified against Liam Perks, 20.

But the trial was stopped on the first day because Judge Jamie Tabor QC ruled her good character may unfairly sway the jury against the defendant.

He decided that her solitary, split-second identification of the man accused of robbing her was simply not enough.

So why let justice be served? Why not instead rule that her testimony as to what happened to her and as to who actually did it may be damaging to the defendant's case and bar her from testifying?

Judge Tabor said he feared the upstanding member of the community might just sway the jury in a case where the evidence fell short.

He told Bristol Crown Court: 'Denise Dawson was a particularly impressive witness because she showed courage, clarity of thought and was undoubtedly honest.

'The jury may lend more weight to her evidence than her facts allow. You cannot be sure she got it right.

You can't be sure she got it wrong either, can you? That's why they let juries decide such things. Well, at least they used to.

'Had this been the Archbishop of Canterbury's son, would I have allowed (the trial) to go on? The answer is no.'

Sounds like open season on the Archbishop of Canterbury's son and all "upstanding citizens" who show "courage, clarity of thought" and who are "undoubtedly honest".

Amazing.

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Holy cow! I read that twice and I still can’t believe it. You simply could not make something like that up. People would laugh yo out of the room. The UK seems to be reaching new heights of insanity lately.

Written By: jjmurphy
URL: http://www.allthatisnecessary.com

I kept expecting to see that it was really a story from theonion.com.

Written By: Billy Hollis
URL: http://qando.net

I’m reminded of a bit of dialogue from "The Maltese Falcon":

JOEL CAIRO - You always seem to have a smooth explanation for everything, Mr. Spade.

SAM SPADE - Would it help if I stammered?

I wonder if this will lead to attorneys coaching their witnesses to look a bit seedy and shifty so that some idiot judge won’t deem them "too credible to testify".

Written By: docjim505
URL: http://

When the muslims eventually take over the UK and install a Sharia court system, I wonder if the people in Britain wont be better off.

Written By: kyleN
URL: http://impudent.blognation.us/blog

I’d venture the world would be a better place if say 5% of all judges had to be removed from office every year by the legislature and executives.

Too many of these guys think they’ve turned into some minor god once they reach the bench. It would be a good reminder that governments derive their powers from the consent of the governed.

Toss in term limits for the legislature and we might get our country back.

Written By: MarkD
URL: http://

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