SK's interest thread

QUOTE

Barrister wanted 'no Greek jurors' in rape trial

A BARRISTER has tried to exclude Greeks from being jurors in a Victorian rape trial because of a "common misunderstanding" they like anal sex.

John Desmond, a defence barrister for 23 years, initially told a County Court judge his submission was in fairness to the alleged victim, a Greek woman.

He told Judge Roy Punshon there was a misunderstanding in the community that "Greeks like anal sex" and that the woman might be seen as compliant and "in fact wanting it".

"That would be doing her a disservice, it wouldn't be fair to either party," Mr Desmond said earlier this month.

When Judge Punshon refused the application — saying he would not have a jury empanelled that excluded Greek people — Mr Desmond then made the application on behalf of his client "in fairness" to him.

Asked by Judge Punshon what the issue was with his client, Mr Desmond replied: " I don't want a Greek juror empathising with a Greek complainant (the woman), your honour."

Judge Punshon responded: "I'm not going to have a jury selected on the basis of race, nationality."

The discussion took place on July 8 as Mr Desmond's client and two other men represented by other barristers prepared to plead not guilty to a number of charges.

The trial ended last week when Mr Desmond's client was acquitted and the other men were found guilty.

In a transcript of the exchanges obtained by The Age, Mr Desmond began his submission by telling Judge Punshon it would be appropriate that there be a "general exemption for a category of potential juror to be inquired of in the case here".

Asked by Judge Punshon what was the issue of fairness to the complainant, Mr Desmond replied: "Greeks.

"See, the allegation here, this is a Greek complainant and her nationality will be established on the evidence, your honour, it's part of the narrative and there are allegations here of anal penetration and there's a common misunderstanding in the community that Greeks like anal sex and she might readily then be seen to be compliant and in fact wanting it.

"That would be doing her a disservice, it wouldn't be fair to either party."

Asked by Judge Punshon what he meant by not being fair to either party, Mr Desmond said: "Well, there's a misconception in the community that Greeks readily engage in anal sex."

Judge Punshon: "Is there?"

Mr Desmond: "They (the jurors) should determine this case upon the evidence, not on the misconceptions."

Judge Punshon: "I will tell them that."

Mr Desmond: "We should avoid the risk, your honour."

Judge Punshon: "Pardon?"

Mr Desmond: "We should avoid the risk."

Judge Punshon: "Well, I'm not going to have a jury empanelled where no Greek people can sit on the jury."

Mr Desmond: "Well, it may be there's only two or three on the panel, your honour, I can't …"

Judge Punshon: "There will be, but I'm not going to exclude someone simply because they are Greek."

The Age is unaware of what the final composition of the jury was.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/barriste...d9.html?page=-1

These are from a book called Disorder in the Court, and are things people
actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place. Some of these are excellent. Don't miss the last one.

Q: Are you sexually active?
A: No, I just lie there.

Q: What is your date of birth?
A: July 15th.
Q: What year?
A: Every year.

Q: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
A: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.

Q: How old is your son, the one living with you?
A: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.
Q: How long has he lived with you?
A: Forty-five years.

Q: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke up that morning?
A: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"
Q: And why did that upset you?
A: My name is Susan.

Q: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo or the occult?
A: We both do.
Q: Voodoo?
A: We do.
Q: You do?
A: Yes, voodoo.

Q: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he
doesn't know about it until the next morning?

Q: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?

Q: Were you present when your picture was taken?

Q: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
A: Yes.
Q: And what were you doing at that time?

Q: She had three children, right?
A: Yes.
Q: How many were boys?
A: None.
Q: Were there any girls?

Q: How was your first marriage terminated?
A: By death.
Q: And by whose death was it terminated?

Q: Can you describe the individual?
A: He was about medium height and had a beard.
Q: Was this a male, or a female?

Q: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice
which I sent to your attorney?
A: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.

Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?
A: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.

Q: All your responses must be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
A: Oral.

Q: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
A: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
Q: And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time?
A: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy.

Q: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for blood pressure?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for breathing?
A: No.
Q: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the
autopsy?
A: No.
Q: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
A: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
Q: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
A: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law
somewhere.

QUOTE

Judge who used sex device in court disbarred

The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday disbarred a former judge who served prison time for using a sexual device while presiding over trials.

Former Creek County District Judge Donald Thompson, 61, was accused of using a "penis pump" in court and convicted in June 2006 on four counts of indecent exposure.

Thompson was released in April after serving 20 months of a four-year prison term and has had to register as a sex offender. He was suspended from the bar association in late 2006.

The opinion written by Supreme Court Justice John Reif states that discipline less than disbarment has been imposed in cases involving felony convictions.

"However, the nature of the crimes in this matter led this Court to conclude that nothing less than disbarment is appropriate. The conduct was not isolated, having occurred over a fairly lengthy period of time and on four separate occasions," Reif wrote.

Thompson maintained during trial that the device was given to him as a gag gift by a hunting buddy and denied ever using it during trials. The Supreme Court said he never responded to requests for a hearing on his disbarment.

Thompson's attorney, Clark Brewster, said Thompson never had any intention of practicing law after he resigned in 2004 when the allegations were first made.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/articles/2...2217309205.html

QUOTE

Boss arrested after parading employee accused of theft

A British businessman was arrested after parading an employee he suspected of stealing along a busy street with a sign saying "thief" around his neck.

Simon Cremer, who runs a carpet fitting business in Witham, Essex, marched employee Mark Gilbert to the local police station wearing a cardboard sign saying: "Thief, I stole £845 ($1900), am on my way to the police station."

But Cremer's attempt to shame Gilbert backfired when he was arrested on suspicion of assault, false imprisonment and theft, Britain's The Daily Telegraph reported.

An Essex police spokesman told the newspaper: "It is important to remember that people are innocent until proven guilty in court."

Gilbert was arrested on suspicion of theft but has not been charged.

Cremer, 44, alleged the 39-year-old carpet fitter had stolen a business cheque, forged his signature and cashed it for £845.

Gilbert was apprehended by Cremer and three other fitters before having his hands tied and being driven to the shopping street where he was paraded, the newspaper said.

The three other men were also arrested over the incident.

No charges have been laid, and all five men were granted bail until late November.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/10/01/1222651116146.html

QUOTE

Thief caught out by revealing tattoo

user posted image

British detectives have made short work of a bungling car thief who broke into an unmarked police car kitted out with CCTV cameras.

To make matters worse for the aspiring criminal, he had his name and date of birth tattooed on his neck — making his arrest that much easier.

Aarron Evans, 21, pleaded guilty in Bristol Magistrates' Court to breaking into a covert police capture car in the city, according to UK media.

"We get such excellent images from these cameras that there is often — and never more so than in this case — no doubt who the criminal is," Supt Ian Wylie was quoted by the BBC as saying.

"Criminals won't be tolerated in Bristol and we will keep catching them and bringing them before the courts."

Evans, an illiterate man of no fixed address, was sentenced to seven months in jail.

The capture car — known as a "honeypot" — is a common technique used by British police to catch criminals in the act.

Officers bait the "honeypot" with a bounty of tempting items such as satellite navigation systems, handbags, car stereos and mobile phones.

Inside the car, cameras film the thief in the act.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=643736

QUOTE

Clubs at risk in global debt crisis

THE head of England's Football Association believes the global credit crisis could force one of the country's top teams into bankruptcy, but said it is impossible to know the true health of the clubs because their finances are not public.

FA chairman David Triesman yesterday urged an end to the culture of secrecy surrounding the finances of English football clubs, which he said had debts of about £3 billion ($7.37 billion).

Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal are believed to account for about a third of that debt.

Speaking at a Leaders in Football conference at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge, Triesman drew a parallel with the recent collapse of Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers.

"If somebody had said to me, 'Did I have a genuine fear that Lehman Brothers would go bust?' I'd say, 'No I didn't'," he said.

"What I know is we are in a very much more volatile position in which debt is not only a problem in terms of its volume, it's a problem because those who own the debt are themselves often in serious problems.

"Your fate isn't in your own hands."

Given the turmoil currently sweeping through financial markets, Triesman said he is braced for one of England's top clubs going out of business and demanded greater financial transparency from owners.

"The debt mountain as we now know is owned around the world and therefore part of the value of the club is owned around the world, often by financial institutions, some of which are in terrible health," Triesman said.

He said such high debt levels were a "tangible danger" at a time when "transparency lies in an unmarked grave".

Triesman's strident opinions met with a hostile reaction from other leading figures within English football, with Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore having a swipe at Triesman and UEFA president Michel Platini.

"We've also got to be very careful we don't somehow adopt Mr Platini's and the French view of debt, which is debt is bad," Scudamore said.

"Debt is inevitable. Debt to a degree is healthy.

"You'll end up with a situation where no one is allowed to go on holiday to France with a mortgage.

"What is important is that the level of indebtedness is proportionate to the income."

Triesman also called for a review of the "fit and proper persons" -*test*-('") that determines who may own English clubs.

The issue came to the fore when former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was allowed to buy Manchester City despite outrage from human rights groups who were critical of alleged abuses during his time in power.

Scudamore said the Premier League put pressure on Shinawatra to sell the club to Abu Dhabi investors last month, and added that a number of people had been stopped from owning Premier League clubs after failing the "fit and proper persons" -*test*-('").

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/10/...3145445380.html

You guys might have to resort to traditional methods to raise the club coffers

Arsenal

user posted image

ManU

Fulham