Finally finished today.

I don't want to go into it much because for me it's now in the past. As I've said before, I have been ill for a long time, depression, anxiety, stress, and I did things that I shouldn't have done at work, down to my mental issues but also down to a lack of supervision, respect and even basic leave from my past employer.

I was really surprised when in the courtroom for the sentencing hearing how blase the prosecution was, as if he really didn't want to bother with the case. His first words were 'this is a simple case' and that was basically it. My defence barrister then argued with the judge over the evidence, medical mainly, the judge then said "I won't be imprisoning the defendant, don't be silly" and my barrister shut up and winked at me. I really found things very very difficult to hear inside the glass cage I was put into.

In the end I get a community order, the Judge says 'a second chance' and after 5 minutes of this, after 10 MONTHS OF UTTER SHITE it's all over.

(I then later learn that the Judge wanted to finish as quickly as possible because he was due for drinks within minutes.)

British Justice.

The one thing this has taught me is that I do not want to work for a company again. It's given me the impetus to get off my arse and start to work on my own, either something simple like eBay or even getting into things that I haven't done before. Unfortunately I'm going to be on the dreaded disability benefits for awhile but then I have had 15 years of paying my NI at top whack it's about time I 'withdrew' something from the state before they stop it.

As a good friend of mine said, 'enjoy your time for awhile'. After working for a company that treated me like shit for many years, I think I'll do that - time to assess just what I want to do in my life and where the markets will be.

Know how you feel from my own recent case.
Try to be positive,and use this to your advantage to start a fresh,as mentioned.

Good luck

Steve

Can I wish you the very best for the future? Good luck with whatever new project you take on.

British justice is (imo) simply a conveyorbelt to pay (highly) the barristers (prosecution and defence) and the judges - most of who will have belonged to the same chambers.

Thank you. I pleaded guilty to my 'crimes' a month ago. I didn't have the energy or the mental strength to go through a trial and my Solicitor Advocate (in this experience it proved very useful when your legal representative can do both) said that I should plead guilty and get it over with; the mitigating evidence was incredibly strong and the further point is that nothing was actually lost. I gained nothing, the employer lost nothing.

Time to move on. As JK has said in the past it's about life experiences, this wasn't a positive one, but as my Advocate said, we got the result we wanted - and also what Probation wanted too.

The whole process is a "Game" in which people try and make money.

The principle of justice has gone in the UK.

I agree with the COALITION that it is time to

1. Close down most courts

2. Stop all petty cases going to court and deal with most with community sentences and fines ( not cautions )

3. Make a min. custodial sentence of 1 year IN prison ( 2 year sentence ) to stop the prisons having to process so many in and out at such a high expense to the taxpayer and with a reoffending rate of nearly 80% on short sentences.

4. Stop all historical trials except for Rape and Murder. This way people cant go back for revenge years later without evidence. This would mean that POLICE bloke would now be free - would mean JK would never have been arrested and so on. We now educate ( and have done since the 80s ) kids to report abuse when it happens. There is no excuse for waiting 10 or more years to report abuse.

Cut the number of laws on the statute books BY HALF to bring us in line with other EUROPEAN countries. This would cut down on the number of Solicitors etc as well being funded by LEGAL AID.

We need to SLASH the JUSTICE BUDGET - it is not needed and does not protect people at all.

Sarah Payne quite rightly says the law does not work. So lets rip it all up and start again with simpler laws and sentencing.

I would like to see Prison only used for serious offences against the person. Rape - GBH - Serious Fraud ( Over £100K ) - Murder _ manslaughter - Burglary ( 3rd offence )

All petty offences should be community sentences or fines. They should not even go into the main courts unless they are very serious.

We need to make CUTS - we MUST NOT CUT THE NHS or EDUCATION.

We need to CUT

1. WAR SPENDING - pointless

2. LEGAL FAT CATS - ridiculous and set up by BLAIR for his mates

3. THE POLICE - we can HALF the number by getting rid of paperwork.

4. NON JOBS - diversity - rights specialists - form fillers - box tickers - PCSOs - teaching assistants

Time for the UK to roll back the frontiers of the state and let people once again be responsible for themselves.

NO MORE NANNY STATE !!


PS Good to hear it is over for many people who post on here.

PPS The majority of the middle class are facing court cases these days. My family had NONE under the TORIES/LABOUR for over 50 years. then NEW LABOUR came in - since then we have had 10 Court Cases !!!! and my family are law abiding Church goers - still with NO CONVICTIONS. They have created an industry out of nothing. It must stop. The STATE has paid over a MILLION pounds on these cases in the last 10 years for nothing. This WASTE has to stop.
Teachers are pulled into court almost every day by the POLICE - for nothing. 98% are not convicted - and in most cases there is no evidence or the evidence is totally on their side.

The "new labour" chavs - know they can gain revenge on Teachers - officials etc by making allegations of assault or touching or whatever. Stupid PLOD respons by taking every case to court when the defendants are nice/middle class teachers etc. because it is easier than chasing real criminals ( who are a very very small minority - and many have mental health or learning disabiities as their reason to offend )

Good Luck to everyone on here who has locked horns with the NEW LABOUR justice system - it is being dismantled.

People have asked me why I stayed at a company for so long, despite getting iller and iller. Well, when you aren't 'right up there' your self esteem is at rock bottom and you are hardly going to enliven an interview for a job elsewhere. That was the main reason. It's being trapped, but trapped in your own psyche. A horrible place to be sometimes.

Still, I look forward to the Tribunal!

I know what you mean Steve. It takes alot to break free from a routine that pays the bills - yet makes you unhappy.

So many people work in jobs that make them unhappy. They work soley in order to keep a roof over their heads or provide for others. I used to laugh at those who called it slavery - but with age and experience I can actually recognise that if you dont enjoy what you do then IT IS a form of slavery.

Our celebrity culture has skewed what is valuable in terms of service and work. However, I hope you find a future where you are happy in what you do. You do now have an opportunity to reinvent yourself and use your talents and do things you enjoy.

Being alive is actually amazing when you take off the blinkers provided by those who want to profit from our work and realise that society is about love - not about earning money etc

The media - courts - employment systems etc all work on the basis of "creating fear and unhappiness" - that is easily proved - when was the last time you can say a "Court" made someone happy - or a Newspaper or bulletin cheered you up ? never in my experience. Even the dogamatic way in which religion is presented is based on fear of hell- rather than expression of love for our creator ( which is why Jesus was so important - God really wanted us to understand how life should be - one full of love rather than fear )

I've attended so many court cases and witnessed how intimidating they can be for the accused.

I have great respect for defense lawyers and barristers. Many times prosecutors are reasonable people who are only allowed to present the facts without embellishing. Occasionally there will be a ratbag.

Take it slow..there is always a reaction that takes a while to set in.

As to the courts...there is an appaling Attorney General in NSW-John Hatzistergos- I have had verbal run-ins with him. I hate his guts. He is participated in a dreadful Laura Norder (law and order)auctions and presided over a 'look-em-up' culture that has ruined so many lives.

He has battled the Chief Prosecutor Nicholas Cowdrey QC who is a most honest and decent man who says their is no point in filling jails and people should just get community orders in 90% of cases and the chance to rehabilitate and re-build their lives.

Now he looks like becoming unstuck and a great old friend of mine, Alex Mitchell, a Trotskyite journalist has come out of retirement with a new column on a daily newspaper to attack him.

www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/hatz-sho...b-20100626-zava.html

To me it said it all when the Judge and the Prosecutor didn't look particularly interested - effectively the Probation Service report was actually very good for me and it was the most unbiased, fair report I think I have ever seen throughout this nightmare. It was a case that should not have gone to Crown Court to start with and even today my Solicitor doesn't know why.