Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

.

Lawyer gets some law. Triple law, actually.

Car park crash lawyer was over alcohol limit
Northampton Chronicle
19 March 2010

A top barrister crashed into a parked car while arriving for work at Northampton Crown Court before staggering off to represent a client, a court heard.

Grant Goodlad, a former president of Northamptonshire Law Society, was seen reversing his Jaguar into Steven Howard's car, getting a pay and display ticket and then walking "unsteadily" into court.

He now faces the possibility of being disbarred as a barrister and struck off as a solicitor by the Law Society after being disqualified from driving for two years, which could be reduced if he attends the impaired driver course.

Goodlad pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.

Julie Costello, prosecuting at Northampton Magistrates' Court yesterday, said Mr Howard's Ford Focus was left with bad scratches along one side following the incident in The Mounts car park at 10.30am on February 9.

She said: "When speaking to police, Mr Howard said the driver smelled strongly of alcohol and appeared unsteady on his feet. He was seen walking off towards the crown courts."

Police officers established the Jaguar belonged to 53-year-old Goodlad, of Welford Road, Thornby, at which point a tannoy alert was made within Northampton Crown Court appealing for the barrister to return to the car park.

Mrs Costello said officers described him as "unsteady walking and appeared very drowsy".

She added: "He said to officers that he had to return to crown court because he had business there representing a client, and repeated this request later."

A breath test taken showed Goodlad had 98 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, almost three-times the drink-drive level of 35mg.

Murray Holmes, defending, said his client conceded he had "a drink problem" and added Goodlad had already taken steps to address the issue with the help of his GP.

He appealed for magistrates to be lenient, adding: "My client said during his interview that he had ruined his life, and I hope for his sake that he has not, but it is altogether possible that he has.

"He has to consider the catastrophic effects his actions may have on his future.

"He is not in double jeopardy but in fact triple jeopardy.

"He has to face up to this court's actions, in due course, the decision of the Bar Council in which he could be disbarred, and thirdly, the Law Society's decision as to whether he will be struck off or not."

Presiding magistrate Kevin Foreman ordered him to complete 40 hours of unpaid work and pay court costs of 80.

The majority of tabasco's post can equally be applied to rampers (a tag he achieved whilst touting that well known disaster MDX).

pth
thats 2 of us, no doubt t will come up with some story about "us" being part of the pack.never mind him being the leader of opposition. after all wasnt it him who appointed the cabinet?
by his own admission he is a multiple bb poster under multiple pseudonyms'.so although i know i am not you i dont know who is t and who is anyone else. all by his own previous bragging admission.
no doubt a very acceptable and logical sidestepping answer will follow at 6am tomorrow.
of course if the confusion he creates continues with further posts then the more he may earn,if that be the case. just my opinion as always and please dyor
regards
jkd

just re read last few posts.
how dare he suggest such a thing?
how dare anyone, but how dare he of all people?
i am so angry.
will sleep on it and no doubt feel better tomorrow.
regards
jkd

Good morning all>

Well The Bashers Handbook certainly ruffled a few featherslet me just say this for the time beingthis thread is full of genuine people that share their viewsthe dozen or more that I call the Groovy Gangappear out of the hat like one of Paul Daniels fluffy Rabbits the moment any person questions their motives
HOW TO IDENTIFY A BASHER..5. Bashers do work in teams (sometimes themselves as a team). So be suspicious of someone showing up and automatically having a Shadow to converse with who supports their argument.
JKDgrow up sunshine! did I ever mention your name as one of the gang?you were the one that popped up out of the hat and posted!!! you took it for granted that I was including yourselfwhat does that tell everyone?I have posted thousands of times on AMwith companies like barcftobvicmdxjdwblnxlloyrsapxstanmksoxb.please highlight just a couple of my post where you believe I have ramped the stock upfor instance predicted a lot higher SPcertain financial gain in the short termand so onthen I will find several hundred post where the Gang posted SPs were sure to go down 50% or moretrying to scare the shitand with some aggressively predicted pennies for our investment...and asking us to sell and "move on" best of luck on that
ChrisI am an investortrust me!I am up at six for a number of reasonsmy wife works in Londonand the family has to get up early her choice...I do odds compiling in the racing industry for myselfwork/playthat takes around one hour per meetinglike to get that out of the way long before mid-dayin between I take the dog for a walk up the lane to get papers and a baguetteI do follow the markets closelyalways looking for a long term investment
I have been sharp to many on these bbsincluding yourselfask fred how I gave him a hard time until I could prove he can be trusted but once I get a comfortable handle I embraceI could tell Greek was a good unnamrehgeorgefredexectimjimmy.and most of this threadif you think I am the villainthen that is your choicebut I sincerely want all investors to make moneytraders beat each other up for short term gain.for every winner there has to be a loserif they can scare a few investors to part with their moneythey have done their job.

Several years ago (probably about 20) I was in a Police Cell block, (now called a Custody Suite, as this sounds better and not so intimidating to our misguided, misunderstood toe tags, sorry I meant clients) when a lady had been arrested for 'drunk driving'. This lady was well over the limit and requested that her husband be informed. He (a Solicitor) turned up at the Police station more drunk than she was. As their home address was about 2 miles away and he arrived within a few minutes, we obviously wondered if he had driven there. A Police Officer had seen him drive into the station yard, so he was breathalysed and found to be also well over the limit. The result both were banned for 12 months.

All through my career I found most Solicitors fair when it came to dealing with the Police as long as they were put in their place (many Police Officers were intimidated by a Solicitors presence especially the newbies), but there was always the bolshie, obnoxious git who tried every trick in the book to get even the worse scum bags off the hook. The Solicitor who was arrested at the station was one of of those obnoxious lot so it made my day when he was banned.
OK I know it's a job (Solicitor) but it takes a particular type of person to go all out to defend the indefensible. Most faced with such a person with overwhelming evidence go through the motions, just doing what they have to and no more.

Another quick Solicitor story.

Violent youth arrested, put in cells, requests Solicitor. Solicitor attends, prisoner put in interview room with Solicitor for private discussion, prisoner still handcuffed. Solicitor demands handcuffs to be removed and prisoner allowed to smoke. As Custody Officer, I refuse stating I think the prisoner is still a risk, Solicitor pushes his augment and starts on about 'He will make a complaint'.
Although willing to ignore him, I think 'OK' on your head be it.
Handcuffs removed, cigs and a light given, both left alone. Few minutes later hear commotion. Enter room, Solicitor lying on floor bad gash to head (he had been smacked with ash tray) taken to hospital, few stitches.
Sometimes you just have to laugh.

Tabby,

Be careful who you lump or group me with, I could end up being offended. Very offended , you may have notice how I wilt at the thought.

But, I have to say that having had 4 children I am used to unruly children to deal with.

Have a nice day.

A plea,

Not taking anyones side, just that this used to be such a friendly, none back biting thread. Lets keep it that way, 'PLEASE', otherwise it will just become a platform for insults, and the like, and most regulars will start to ignore it.

greekman re 'Handcuffs removed, cigs and a light given, both left alone. Few minutes later hear commotion. Enter room, Solicitor lying on floor bad gash to head (he had been smacked with ash tray) taken to hospital, few stitches.' He learnt a valuable lesson that day---smoking is bad for your health, serves him right eh!
2517

George,

Your right of course. The incident was before the smoking ban in places of work, which out of interest allowed prisoners the right to smoke for many month after the ban came in. Prisoners rights over anyone else's obviously.

FredI do know you and Chris have your different viewsindeed we dont agree on some pointslisten
YourselfChris and the other good guyswould not try and play mind games for financial gainmany of the Gang dont give a fcuk about how they get your stockor how much you loseit is their job to con youask yourself why would certain posters spend hours of their valuable time advising you to sellwhen they dont even hold a interest in the companyare they angels?I dont think so.

Yet more interesting news from my local paper...

Bobbies can't get on their bikes yet as they need health and safety training

Northampton Chronicle
22 March 2010
By Wayne Bontoft

Plans to bring back police officers on push bikes to an area of Northampton have been delayed because the officers need health and safety training.

Residents of Kingsley and Parklands had expected to see officers riding a fleet of mountain bikes in the area, but during a public meeting they were told their deployment would be delayed until the summer because the officers needed to take a training course before getting into the saddle.

The meeting was chaired by Northampton Borough Council member, Councillor Malcolm Mildren (Ind, Parklands), who described the situation as 'foolish'.

He said: "People thought it was very strange when we were told the situation at the meeting. You would have thought riding a bike would be common sense, it's the kind of thing where you can either do it or you can't. I've not ridden a bike in years, but I'm pretty sure I could get on one and not be a total disaster."

It is hoped that when the bikes are in use, they will be used by officers to access places which are inaccessible to squad cars.

Councillor Mildren said: "They've got these bikes to make it easier to get into places like Bradlugh Fields and it does seem foolish that they've apparently got all this equipment but they're not using it. I don't see why they can't use one of the schools for their training sessions, then they could help teach the children at the same time. I just hope they will be up and running at some point this year."

A spokesman for Northamptonshire Police said officers had to undergo a 10-hour training course before being allowed to use bicycles on duty.

She said: "Officers need a 10-hour training course before going out on these bikes. The course covers issues relating to using a bike on patrol, including how to use the bike as defence if confronting an offender."

Last year, a group of cycling police officers from across England, Wales and Northern Ireland received national ridicule after drawing up a 93-page guide on how to ride a bike.

The document told officers how to balance, brake and turn safely as well as suggesting they wore padded shorts to protect their bottoms.

Northamptonshire Police has not said if any similar advice is given in its training sessions.

Looks like the video link above is a true story - I know vet's charges are expensive, but even so :-)

Speechless !!!

Some 'jobsworth' will suggest doing her for using the telephone whilst driving.
2517

Tabby,

In your argument about the actions of solicitors, one thing is being missed that is the implementation of criminal law is based on being innocent until proven guilty in a recognised court of law. Hopefully, that applies to all.

Do we want a return to lynching?
Who will the mob lynch, them or us?

To have a decent society, the law (all law) need to be upheld, even if it allows some villains to escape conviction. Minor transgressions may be treated summarily, by the various administrative bodies, as long as appeals to the courts are allowed.

Otherwise, you may be allowing the forces of law, to judge guilt on the bases of intuition, or even less usefully value judgement.

One thing, which I would like to see, is that those who plead not guilty and are found guilty have an increase in their sentence , related to the increase in cost of the court action. This again has problems, in that some innocents may opt for the safe route of a minimal sentence, in fear of having an exorbitant cost of pleading their innocence.

If we give up the forfeit the rights of the defendants, we may all be in trouble.

A thing which worries me in the current atmosphere, is the possible local political interference in the appointment of chief police officers.

Fred stop oversimplifying everything

while we may owe a great debt of grattitude to our police let us not get carried away - we should never forget, and i MEAN never FORGET THE LIVES THEY HAVE DESTROYED in the past -NEVER !!!!! ..By that i mean the lives of the Guildford 4, the Birmingham 6, Annie Mcguire and her family ,the Cardiff 3,the Bridgewater 4 or the shooting- by shotgun- of a man within the confines of an east london police station. ect ect .. ,,,The true sign of a mature democracy is surely one that shows justice to those who are the least deserving ........Had the police Fed had their way those very cases would have resulted in people being hung ,,,,,shame on your house...l fully endorse Freds analysis and find it anything but simplistic

TheFrenchConnectionmy humour Im afraid whilst I agree with a lot of your viewssome of your examples go back to before a lot of us were bornif these are the only examples we can findand those convicted were evidently no angelsand with previousputs it into a kinda perspective?now that dont make it rightbut?