It’s been a quiet on The Oakstump, and this has been commented upon!! I’ve sort of got out of the Oakstump routine since our Welsh trip, and I blame the court system. Immediately on our return from Bala, I was immersed in preparing for a court case that I didn’t think was going to happen, and then the court case took place and then I had all sorts of things to catch up on.
From time to time the inefficiencies if the court system (sorry, Your Worships, I meant the alleged inefficiencies) makes the news, and I can only concur that the system is indeed horrendously inefficient.
I visit Leicester Magistrates Court four or five times a year to obtain a warrant to enter someone’s house to remove the sound system.
We arrive at 9.45am for a 10am hearing (because unlike the rest of the working world the court isn’t up and running until 10am) or maybe at 1.45pm for a 2.00pm sitting (minimum lunch break for Magistrates seems to be 90 minutes). If I’m lucky I get to present my case before the court hearings start. If I’m unlucky I sit through half an hour of solicitors telling the Magistrates why their case/client is not ready for a hearing, despite knowing the date weeks, if not months, in advance. If I’m really unlucky I have to sit through various hearings, which can be interesting from time to time. If I’m really really unlucky I sit through the gas or electricity company Bailiff applying for Warrants – address after address after address, debt after debt after debt, which the Magistrates have to individually hear to grant a warrant of entry to change the meter to a card-meter, which inflates the cost of gas /electric to pay the debt.
Anyway, “my” recent case was in Loughborough Magistrates Court (30 minutes by car from the office), since Leicester Magistrates (one minute walk from the office) couldn’t find time to hear the case.
Back in February we were having noise problems with a city centre bar at a time when the Police were having problems with assaults at the bar – mostly by the door staff. Since this was often on a Friday or Saturday night during the City centre’s “lively and vibrant night time economy” period, the assaults were often witnessed by Police, who then witnessed the offender being ushered back inside by other doormen, who consequently physically refused Police access. By the time re-enforcements arrived it was difficult to locate the offender. I was also barred from entry on the one occasion that I tried.
The Police applied to the City Council have the licence of the premises removed, and we supported the application since even breaking in to remove the sound system on two occasions had failed to prevent the noise (and prosecution is lengthy and expensive). After a five hour hearing in early April the licence was “revoked” i.e. removed.
Not surprisingly the bar appealed to the Magistrate’s Court – this was a no-brainer, since the bar can continue trading until the appeal is heard. The assaults continued, although at least they turned the music down. I was asked for my availability for the hearing, and I advised that I was unavailable during the dates of my Welsh holiday.
Two days before my holiday I was told that the bar had finally submitted papers, and could I write a full statement for our solicitors within 7 days, and allow time to meet our solicitor and barrister. Err…. Dear Legal Department. I told you that I wasn’t available. And I’m not. Hence the rush to prepare for the case when I got back.
And so a few days later I presented myself at Loughborough Magistrates Court, along with 8 terrified young police officers and a couple of more relaxed older police officers. I was told by “our” barrister that I would be the last to be heard – on day two or three. Great. So that is two or three days of just waiting outside a court room. The case was delayed by over an hour because the barrister for the bar had to consult his clients. He’d had six months to consult his clients. If they had delayed appointing a barrister, that should have been their loss.
I was eventually heard on the afternoon of day two. I’d spent 2 days preparing for the case, almost 2 days waiting to be heard, and spent just 20 minutes being cross examined by a somewhat mediocre barrister.
There must be a better way of organising justice.
Oh yes – the Magistrates confirmed that bar should lose its licence.
Technically we live in Oaktree House, but sadly the tree had to go.
We now have a thriving Oakstump at the front of the house.
