A masked Muslim woman member of a jury in a murder trial has been caught listening to music on a MP3 player when she should instead of been listening to oral evidence being given. I reported here about another incident in court with a masked Muslim. It raises the question are these people taking the piss? We are asked to respect their wearing a hijab as part of their religion and yet they have shown no respect for our way of life.
If random selection of members of a jury throws up this kind of problem, should we be randomly selecting at all? This Muslim woman did not want to do jury service from the outset, should people be excused if they have no interest in the proceedings? She showed contempt by turning up late to each of the hearings, and then doodled instead of making notes and finally was caught listening to music. Of course this is deserving of punishment, but I would question whether we need the power to impose an unlimited jail sentence for such conduct.
Then there is the issue of the judge having the power to impose a 13 day news blackout. It is not clear why this was imposed or whether it was needed in this particular case.
The case is here.
A mixture of law, politics, autobiography and humour. Once described as "The Devilish Advocate" (Guardian), I do have the ability to provoke a response. Sometimes it comes from someone who uses a thought process, and sometimes from jerks usually associated with the knee.
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