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Private Notes
Introverted middle-aged bachelor Leslie Simon and outgoing teenager Barry Gems seem worlds apart but an encounter between them in a parks public toilet late on a Saturday night left Mr. Simon badly injured. The Prosecution assert that Gems deliberately assaulted him.
David Miller is accused of committing grievous bodily harm against Ronnie Dewhurst, a man with whom he has long had a tense relationship and whose former girlfriend he has married. Dewhurst says he was assaulted in a pub
Dispatch worker Raj Singh is accused of stealing merchandise from the Electrotoy factory where he worked and of wounding his supervisor Ronald Makepeace. The Prosecution argue that the goods were found in the boot of Singh's car by Mr. Makepeace whom he then assaulted in a fit of anger. However Singh denies both charges. He retorts that the items were planted in his car, the culmination of a campaign of racially-motivated harassment throughout his employment.
Dr. Ruth Wilkins attended a concert by singers John Barnard and Julie Gilmour. However she was not a fan and after hearing them perform one of their songs they are charged with blasphemy. Dr. Wilkins is a committed Christian and moral campaigner and argues the song causes outrage to Christians. The Defence maintain that the song is quite acceptable and a legitimate statement of protest against the cruelties of war.
Robine Fisher stands accused of infanticide - specifically of smothering to death her baby son Michael - while suffering from post-natal depression. The Prosecution case is that she was an inadequate mother who eventually lost control. Injuries on his body suggested he had been deliberately suffocated. The Defence claim though that she cared deeply for Michael and that he died of cot death syndrome. Her desperate efforts to revive him inadvertently caused the injuries.
Novelist Derek Easton is accused of harbouring escaped psychopath John Bright and aiding and abetting him to commit rapes by supplying drugs used to subdue the victims. He had met Bright while on a voluntary stay in a psychiatric hospital and the Prosecution claim the two became strong friends. Easton denies the charges. He says he did not know Bright was a serious sexual offender, did not know he was on the run and did not assist him with the rape offenses.
Nadia Phillips faces charges of malicious wounding and criminal damage. The prosecution case is that she assaulted her former fiancé Bob Turner and damaged artworks created by his new partner Alice Lovell.
George Mitchell, a prisoner on a release programme, was found by a police officer in possession of a cashmere coat containing items of jewellery. The coat and jewellery all belonged to members of the wealthy Cunningham family with whom he had been staying while Mrs. Cunningham offered him rehabilitation support. Mitchell admits to stealing the coat but argues that he is innocent of the other alleged thefts. He insists the items were planted and he is the victim of a frame by a member of the Cunningham family.
George Grainger has a long list of convictions for handling stolen property. How can he explain away a garage full of stolen whisky?
Marianne Miller has admitted to forging her birth certificate but denies obtaining property by deception from Harry Miller and a former partner Victor Czaky. However this is no typical fraud case because Marianne was born as Stephen Lewis and after a sex change operation "married" Harry Miller. This "marriage" was later annulled as she was born male. Both men claim they had no idea she was born male and would never have embarked on the relationships had they known her true sex.
On the final day of the trial, Marianne's father takes the stand, as does an eminent endocrinologist, who testifies that, in his medical opinion, Marianne Miller is a woman.
Frank Robey and his brother-in-law David Charlton have had a tense relationship for some time. Matters though took a rather serious turn at the end of a New Year's party resulting in David Charlton's jaw being broken. The Prosecution argue that Robey struck Charlton with a frozen leg of pork he had taken to the party, angry at it being rejected as a present. However the Defence claim that Robey is innocent. They don't deny that he was unhappy with his brother-in-law but insist the injuries occurred accidentally in a fall.
A concert by rock band "Tears" ends when teenage fan Michelle Hinds is blinded when her face hits the footlights while being ejected from the stage by roadie James Fagan. Fagan is charged with GBH but claims the incident was an accident.
Borstal inmate Steven Fisk is accused of stealing items from a shop while he was on an unsupervised visit to the town centre. It is accepted that Fisk took the goods and then handed them in to police. The prosecution contend that Fisk stole the items with the intention of selling them and using the proceeds to cement his position as a "daddy" or dominant figure within the borstal.
Two schoolboys visited a funfair looking for a fifty pence piece that one of them had dropped. While there they met a man who offered them the same amount each if they would perform indecent acts with him. The boys reported the matter to the police and they identified Reginald Barton as the offender. The Defence do not deny an offence took place and Barton admits to a long criminal record for sexual offences against boys. However he insists he is innocent on this occasion and is the victim of mistaken identity.
Divorcee Nora Docherty is charged with exercising control over a prostitute - her own daughter.
John Hibberd, an old man, was left paralyzed and unable to speak after two strokes and was cared for by his wife Violet. She now stands accused of deliberately harming him - firstly by scalding his arm with boiling water and then by putting caustic soda in his bath water. Both Prosecution and Defence agree that the Hibberds had a very unhappy marriage but Violet denies deliberately inflicting the injuries - she insists both occurred by accident.
In 1964 Yannis Christodoulou, a Greek-Cypriot immigrant, appeared before magistrates charged with wounding Ahmed Hilmi, a Turkish-Cypriot. Christodoulou left for Cyprus before trial at a higher court. Fourteen years later he returned to the UK thinking the case had expired but it has in act been referred to the Crown Court. The Prosecution argue Christodoulou was taunting Hilmi over events in Cyprus but the Defence say he was only acting in reasonable self-defence, thinking Hilmi and a friend were going to attack him.
Eighteen year old Terry Selwyn died after taking an overdose of his medication while staying at a hostel for mentally ill youngsters. Anna Damon, the former warden, now faces the charge of involuntary manslaughter in connection with his death. The Prosecution allege that she was guilty of criminal neglect in allowing him access to the pills. She asserts her innocence, arguing that she was not on duty at the time and that the hostel was badly managed by its director Gudrun Ewbank.
Stella Martin-James is accused of stealing money from Mary Carr and Patsy Donovan. However this is not a conventional case of theft as the girls are staying at Green House probation hostel and Miss Martin-James is their warden.
The Fulchester Free Press published an article accusing journalist Dennis Broadley of being dishonest and a drunk after he wrote a critical article about dancer Linda McDonald. Ben Hare and Julia Andretti of the FFP are now being sued for libel by Broadley who says his comments about McDonald were accurate and involved no deception but they say he tricked her and is notorious for his problems with alcohol.
Amy Sellars stands accused of the attempted murder of her daughter-in-law Valerie. The Prosecution case is that Amy disliked Valerie who she felt was not right for her son and attempted to kill her by drowning. They allege she organised a rowing trip despite boating conditions being poor and then pushed Valerie - who could not swim - into the water. The Defence reject the charge and retort that Valerie Sellars fell into the water accidentally.
Kenneth Eden, a wealthy man, did voluntary work with his wife helping youngsters at a local children's home. However he now finds himself accused of stealing a necklace from and indecently assaulting teenager Barbara Brown. The Prosecution say he was found in possession of Barbara's necklace and molested her when she visited his house. He denies both accusations, arguing Barbara left behind the necklace and the assault claim has been invented by Barbara and her care workers.
