Judge John Deed (2001) s01e00 Episode Script

We thought you weren't ever coming for this.
Sign there and there.
You're not going to do anything silly with a gun, are you, Maurice? Mind you, no one would blame you.
If you purchase a shotgun you must keep it under lock and key, as stipulated on the licence.
You understand? Yes.
Thank you.
What is your problem? They let me go.
The court let me go.
Come on.
(DOG BARKING) Do you have any expectation of either allaying my unease or getting started again today, Mr Frant? If not, I might usefully adjourn and take my daughter to her new college for the start of her fresher term.
It's with much personal regret that I should keep a father from such a duty, my lord.
There is a slight problem in the witness statements.
If we could have a short adjournment, I should be most grateful.
Customs & Excise have had 1 5 months to prepare this case.
During that time the defendants have been in custody.
I'm a bit worried about the inconsistencies in your case.
Is an adjournment really going to do it for you? Perhaps we could adjourn until the morning? If you're optimistic about getting the prosecution back on track and not stopping.
As you point out, my lord, my clients have been on remand for 1 5 months.
I wonder if you'd consider releasing them on bail? I don't think so, Mr Peters.
Until the morning.
USHER: All rise.
What a shambles.
A pound says they come back tomorrow and throw it.
-And without any interference from you, Judge? -What me, interfere? The list officer called.
Can you deal with a quick guilty plea? -Who's for the prosecution? -Michael Willingham.
Well, that won't be quick.
Charlie, hi.
Hang on.
No.
I don't think so.
Do you want to go down now? We've just adjourned.
All right.
I'll pick you up shortly.
-My lord -If it's the guilty plea, I can't do it.
We need to get it out of the way, my lord.
Your Lordship isn't leaving the building? -We're all minded of your security, my lord.
-Find my policeman.
I'll have a pee.
(BLEEPING) (KNOCKING) (TOILET FLUSHING) My lord.
Check the street.
-Where's His Lordship? -I believe he went to the bathroom.
You know full well he didn't.
He's left.
I know no such thing, Mr Radcliff.
This is not the first time you've connived with him, Mrs Cooper.
You'd do well to know which side you're on.
I'm here to assist His Lordship.
You're here to help ensure he doesn't get up to any of his tricks.
If you don't, the Lord Chancellor's Department will quickly replace you.
Is that all you're taking? What about your sound system? Covered.
Roommate's got hers.
It's going to feel strange not having you around.
I'm only 30 minutes away, Dad.
Chas! Rory.
-How you doing? -Hey.
-What did you do on your gap? -Saved Belize.
The government there is really trying to protect the rainforest now.
Great.
Are they stopping the multinationals? We put sugar in the tractor fuel tanks and hammered spikes to the trees to wreck the chainsaws.
-That's great.
-What did you do? I did something far more dangerous.
I worked in McDonald's.
-Oh, have you given up being a veggie? -It's a joke.
McDonald's would have been cooler.
I did legal stuff around the courts.
This is the Judge.
Judge, this is Rory.
We were at the cesspit together.
That's what Grandpa calls the comp.
You two turned out nice enough.
Rory organised the AT road-widening protest.
He stopped some major woodlands being destroyed.
Ah, yes, I read about that.
A lot of property got damaged.
That's just police propaganda, Dad.
I read about the murder case you tossed last week, Judge.
-Did you get away with it? -Just about.
-You reading law? -Social anthropology.
All those tutors have to eat, I suppose.
It's a joke.
If we didn't study social anthropology, we wouldn't know why we queue in supermarkets.
It's a joke, Dad.
-Adam's here, and Hamm.
-Great.
The Judge knows all the best pubs in Brighton.
You're in early, Michael.
Or were you out all night? Oh, you're the one who was missed at the digs last night.
The Lord Chancellor's people nearly sent out a search party.
I refuse to become a judicial prisoner.
The housekeeper almost wrestled me to the ground when I stepped out to post a letter.
You'll get used to that.
Overweening concerns.
-You okay? -Yeah.
You sure? You know, there was a time when I when I couldn't wait to get into court.
The law ordered things, made things right, ended chaos.
Nods in that direction.
Couldn't sleep last night.
I've got this wretched case starting this morning.
You know the father who shot his daughter's killer? Jo Mills is for the defence.
Tough row to hoe.
I don't relish sending him down for life.
-Who's for the prosecution? -Stafford-Clark.
Oh, he's a lazy slob.
Have them in.
Let him plead to manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility.
Or provocation.
Well, four months had elapsed between the two killings.
It might be argued that Mr Haart had regained mental responsibility.
A case could be made that he hadn't recovered from his daughter's death.
The non-custodial sentence her killer got threw him back.
You still think like a defence barrister, John.
And there's some jiggery-pokery from the LCD.
They want an example to stop others.
I'd have shot him if he'd run my daughter down and left her to die.
-Now, it looks like collusion.
-Yes, but the point is (WHISPERED ARGUING) Mr Frant.
-(WHISPERING) We're going to have to withdraw.
-Why? Mr Frant.
-I'd hoped this would've ended.
-I'm sorry, my lord.
The prosecution, I regret, my lord, can offer no further evidence in this case.
Thank you for your candour.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the prosecution's case has collapsed.
It but remains for me to invite you to return a verdict of not guilty after the clerk of the court has read the charges.
You can return the verdict without retiring.
Members of the jury, on the count of conspiring to illegally import cannabis and upon His Lordship's direction, do you find the defendants, James Everett and Sean Arnold, not guilty? Yes.
Not guilty.
Is that the verdict of you all? Well, yes.
I know it sounds daft, but technically, the defendants remain in your charge until you reach a verdict.
I don't suppose you wanted them to go home with you, do you? Or perhaps you do.
Thank you.
Would you now go with the jury, bailiff? I'm afraid he might have another case for you.
May I ask, at this point, that an order be made for costs? Both defendants have suffered considerable hardship in the past 1 5 months on remand.
I thought prisoners had widescreen TV and open access to the net while on remand.
-I was thinking of financial hardship, my lord.
-Yes, yes, all right.
That isn't to say I believe the defendants to be wholly innocent.
I will ask the Taxing Master to look very closely at the costs involved.
Meanwhile, I suggest Customs & Excise take radical measures to improve their act.
Thank you.
USHER: All rise.
I didn't engineer that collapse.
A pound, please.
Well, why did Mr Frant allow the case to go forward in the first place? He's a wing-and-a-prayer merchant.
I've no doubt those two were importing cannabis.
Customs & Excise take a slip-shod approach and then expect the judges to support them.
And too many do.
We'll see them back with that one before long.
Mr Justice Nivan has had a heart attack.
-Is it bad? -Not life-threatening.
His murder case is coming your way.
You're the next senior red judge.
He was a bit worried by it.
The listing officer is trying not to send it here.
I shouldn't be telling you this, Judge.
Michael Nivan said there was some jiggery-pokery.
I'm looking for my next piece of work.
There's a rape case that needs a senior, Your Lordship.
Where's the Haart murder case Mr Justice Nivan was to hear? Well, that would have been perfect for us, but it's not quite ready.
I understood from Michael Nivan that it was.
I'm not sure the presiding judge thought it quite ready, Your Lordship.
The rape case is very tricky, my lord.
The senior circuit judge can do the murder.
He has a ticket.
But it makes no sense for a purple to do the murder and me do the rape.
I'll send my clerk down for the papers.
I'd better speak to the Lord Chancellor's Department.
-Simon Dymock.
-Simon, It's Willy Radcliff, We have a possible problem at Highfield.
Mr Justice Nivan's been taken ill, and Mr Justice Deed is trying to lasso the Haart murder case.
The government doesn't want a spate of revenge killings.
An example needs to be made of the father, and Deed can't be relied on for that.
And will you order him not to try the case, sir? Unfortunately, Willy, no one can order a High Court Judge.
Not me, not the Permanent Secretary, not even the Lord Chancellor.
Well, the tabloids are calling for justice for the father.
Whipping up the Black community.
We already have a protest outside the court.
Find Deed something else.
If not, lose the papers for a while.
Who's in charge here? You cannot conduct your protest here, silent or otherwise.
I must ask you to move across the street.
(PROTESTERS SHOUTING) There's been a slight change, Rita.
His Lordship has drawn the most interesting case.
-He's expecting the Haart papers.
-He's got the rape case, I'm afraid.
Do they think they're putting one over me? If I'm not speaking out of turn, Judge, the clerk of Number Two Court has got a direct line to the LCD.
Check the jury panel's assembled and send those back.
Jo? Gosh, John, I've never seen a red judge in his braces.
You're risking gossip.
They won't even let me get my own coffee.
-That's elevation for you.
-You ready to start the Haart case? Not with you trying it.
Be in Number Two in five minutes.
Ready to go.
What's the problem? -It feels like a breath of fresh air.
-Tornado, more like.
He interferes all the time.
Makes you look incompetent.
I'llI'll call you later.
-Dodged your minders, did you? -I'm getting good at it.
Is the prosecution ready to begin the Haart case? Word is they've bounced you.
Yeah, just as soon as I find my junior.
She went for a pee about an hour ago.
Where are the papers for the Haart case? -He's here now looking for the pages.
-Do I look stupid to you? -We have the rape case, my lord.
-Who is he talking to? Put him on.
Let me speak to him.
Simon Dymock, Circuit Administrator.
-No time.
I've got a trial to start.
-Did you hear that? Don't let him.
Make him take the rape.
The Lennox rape case really does need someone of your superior intellect, Your Lordship.
The Haart case begins in Number Two in 1 0 minutes, with or without the papers.
USHER: All rise.
This case was to have been heard by the presiding judge, Mr Justice Nivan.
Unfortunately, he's been taken ill.
As the papers have yet to reach me, I shall require the case to be fully opened by the prosecution.
Members of the jury, the defendant, Maurice Haart, is charged on this indictment with murder, in that he, on the 2 7th of February, murdered Alex Redburn.
To this indictment he has pleaded not guilty.
It is your task to say whether he is guilty or not.
You may sit down.
I would, if I may, bring to Your Lordship's attention the demonstration currently going on outside the court, doubtless with the sole purpose of influencing the jury.
Hasn't gone unnoted, Mr Stafford-Clark.
Nor the fact that we've just heard the jury swear to try the case according to the evidence alone.
Members of the jury, Counsel for the prosecution is right in pointing out to the court the small demonstration taking place outside.
It suggests a racial motivation for this case.
I must caution you not to speak to anyone on that demonstration about this case or to accept any of their literature during the course of this trial.
Before I proceed with the openings, I'd like to see counsel in my chambers.
This is an administrative matter.
I'd normally let you slope off for a cup of coffee, but as this will only take a few moments, would you stay where you are, please? Thank you.
USHER: All rise.
You know what I'm going to ask.
The majority of the country, if the tabloids are to be believed, is hostile to the whole idea of this man standing trial for murder, worse his going to prison on a mandatory life sentence.
Now, I'm not saying that I agree with them, but I must consider public opinion.
We have to decide how justice can best be served here.
Michael Nivan was worried about proceeding with the murder charge.
If a plea of manslaughter were to be accepted, I'd be minded to impose a suspended sentence.
Personally, I'd love to go that way.
I did discuss it with the CPS, but they're adamant.
Well, far be it for me to try to influence the prosecuting authorities, but they are in danger of finding themselves in a no-win situation, aren't they? A conviction would be very unpopular.
An acquittal will make them seem vindictive in charging him with murder in the first place.
Yeah, well, I doubt if they see it like that.
Well, you're running the case, David.
Would Haart plead to manslaughter if David were persuaded? I have a client problem, my lord.
-He doesn't care whether he wins or loses in court.
-Oh.
-Jury defence statement? -Oh, yes.
''Redburn got what he deserved.
'' Right.
The task before the prosecution is straightforward, to show beyond reasonable doubt A, that the prisoner carried out the actions that killed the deceased, Mr Redburn, and B, that when he did this, he did it with the intention of killing or seriously injuring him.
Now, we will show beyond shadow of doubt that the defendant, prior to February the 2 7th, observed and stalked his victim, Alex Redburn, with the clear intention of killing him in revenge for the tragic accident, some four months previously when he ran over and killed Mr Haart's daughter.
What followed was a premeditated act of murder.
Your name will be mud, my lord.
Oh, give it a rest, Jo.
It's bad enough that I have to have minders.
There's even a chaplain available for me.
He could improve your character.
So how are you going to run provocation? Stafford-Clark's looking to block all avenues.
No one can imagine the overwhelming sense of loss this father feels.
He had to relive the whole shock when Redburn walked.
You're on shaky ground.
He had four weeks to think about it before acting.
Time has stopped for this father.
Get him to plead to manslaughter.
I'll give him a non-custodial sentence.
Any sentence is meaningless, John.
Living is his sentence.
Well, it's for the prosecution to disprove provocation, if you decide to run it.
I hope you've got some good external witnesses.
You fancy your chances? -Is she a good lawyer? -She would get better under your tutelage.
-Would you like to have dinner? -Am I the consolation prize? Is that how you see yourself, Jo? I'm surprised.
It's quite hard to maintain a positive image.
We could go back to my place.
What? Your official lodgings? It'd go straight back to the Lord Chancellor.
Oh, we could lose Laurel and Hardy.
No, I gotta get back to Tom.
Won't do his homework unless I'm there.
Would save me making a fool of myself.
Thought that's what your minders were for.
-Hey, how's Charlie? -She's great.
Her mother and grandfather are still not talking to her for choosing Sussex over Oxford.
You're lucky she didn't choose York.
I sometimes wonder if I'll ever see Marc again.
I'll introduce you, then you're on your own.
Talk to your client.
Get him to plead.
This is John Deed.
Jane.
MAN: Run! (SIRENS APPROACHING) Get back.
I can run provocation.
That is your only possible defence.
For that, the jury has to be convinced that a reasonable man like you may have been provoked by something that was said or done, but even that only reduces murder to manslaughter.
It doesn't matter what the judge or the jury do.
I'm guilty, Mrs Mills.
A lot of people up and down the country think otherwise.
You're risking a mandatory life sentence, Maurice.
The court that tried Redburn made a mockery of my little girl's short life.
What more can they do to me? We'll find something.
I saw him that day.
Redburn.
Driving his lorry.
The same lorry that killed my Mona.
The day you shot him? Why didn't you tell me this before? Provocation will run very well.
We'll put you in the witness box.
You tell the jury exactly what you just told me.
No.
-He's about to start, Mrs Mills.
-It'll keep.
Well, we can't possibly continue with this case until I have the information I asked for last week.
Could you get it for me, please? No, not now (KNOCKING ON DOOR) Excuse me, madam.
Might I have a word? Might be better in private.
Any secrets you know, my colleagues will know soon enough, Bob.
Your daughter phoned, madam.
Gosh, do I still have a daughter? She was phoning from a police station, madam.
She's been arrested and needs a surety for bail.
Sounds like she needs a criminal lawyer.
-Didn't she call her father? -He's in court, madam.
Oh, I see.
His career is still coming first.
Well, I've got clients coming in.
-It'll do Charlie no harm to cool her heels.
-I daresay, madam.
She can try her father or sweat it out.
Aren't you curious, George? Oh, I know what it'll be about.
Her latest, latest protest.
Charlie wants to save the world.
You stated in evidence what Mr Haart's actions were when he handed you the shotgun.
What was his outward appearance? So that we might help the jury understand his state of mind.
He was calm, I'd say.
Very calm? For someone who had just shot somebody, he was, miss.
Would you say his manner was that of someone in shock? He was still and quiet like shock victims, completely out of it.
Was he completely out of it when he came to the station with the gun? He was like a piece of putty.
You've known Mr Haart since the death of his daughter? It was me who broke the news to him.
-How would you describe his state then? -His world fell apart.
He kept saying how she was only doing the paper round to save up to see her nan in Jamaica.
How he shouldn't have let her.
And when you saw him subsequently, had his state changed? Hardly at all.
At one time, we thought he might be planning to kill himself.
Did you take any action on that? I asked the police surgeon to see him.
He referred him to a psychiatrist.
Did you observe the defendant at the trial of the man who killed his daughter? Every day.
Just sitting, not saying a word.
A couple of times I offered him tea.
It was like he didn't see me.
On each of your subsequent meetings, Sergeant, would it be fair to say that he was out of it, -glazed, like a man in shock? -No doubt about it.
Thank you, Sergeant.
Before you step away, Sergeant, can you tell the court how you dealt with the defendant's application for a shotgun licence? It was processed in the normal way.
You thought these circumstances were normal? They weren't considered abnormal, my lord.
Well, the man's daughter had been killed by a hit-and-run driver.
Did it not occur to you that there might be criminal intent in the application? No, my lord.
The applicant was of good character, has no criminal record.
Well, from your description of him, the applicant might have been suicidal.
There are easier ways to kill yourself, my lord.
Did it occur to you that he might want the gun to kill the man who killed his daughter? No, sir.
He applied for the licence before the trial of Alex Redburn.
It was assumed Redburn would be sent to prison.
And the application takes, what, 1 0 weeks to be approved? So it arrived after the trial.
Four weeks and one day after the non-custodial sentence was given to Redburn.
Are you calling the gunsmith, Mr Stafford-Clark? No, my lord, the defence accepts his statement.
This can be read to the jury.
So, the shooting occurred on the same day as the licence was collected and the gun was purchased? Yes.
Did you encourage the defendant in his action? -No, my lord.
Not at all.
-No word or gesture? I mean, the police do sometimes encourage victims to duff someone up.
Not in my experience, my lord.
Hmm.
Do you want to come back at all, Mr Stafford-Clark? Thank you, my lord.
Sergeant, do you have any special expertise for assessing people in shock? No, sir.
Well, just so the jury is clear about this, your evidence as to the prisoner's mental state was opinion.
-Yes, sir.
-Thank you, Sergeant.
How long have you been a policeman? 1 9 years, my lord.
Yes.
In all that time you must have accrued a wealth of experience.
I'm sure the jury can accept that you're an expert.
Thank you.
You can step down.
-Yeah? -Daddy, it's George.
-Did Charlie call? -I've not heard a squeak out of her.
She is in a spot of bother with the police.
Another of her protests, I expect.
Do you want me to send my driver down and try to sort it out? That's very sweet.
Let her call her father.
Must go.
Oh, by the way, do you remember GEC and AEU? Hm.
I ought to, I gave the ruling.
It's about to make me a lot of mun.
Here.
Turn it off, will you? -Which police station? -The High Street.
Have the press got it? I don't think so, Judge, or the LCD press office would have been on.
I assumed you didn't want your driver.
Why the hell her mother couldn't have gone -John, could I have a word? -I have to run.
-I need to speak to you off the record.
-Go on, then.
I appreciate your dilemma, Jo, but there's nothing I can do.
You've got an answer to most other things.
You can't tell the jury what provoked Haart and neither can I.
So unless you get him into the witness box, you're stuffed.
I'm sorry, Jo.
We've been working very, very hard on your behalf.
Thank you, Mr Wheldon, although I think we might want more than tea.
I thought it was gonna be good news.
It's not good news, Mike.
It's very good news.
Under the employment contracts drafted by the lawyers to the old union before it amalgamated, you won't have to pay one cent in back pensions for the closure of business.
Do I take it that the whole 1 5 million is safe? £1 5,620,000 at closure.
Plus 29 months' interest at 7.
4% .
The contract was poorly drafted.
The union lawyers in those days were too keen to score political points rather than looking at the detail.
He said when we took over that company they knew our intentions, so passed on their obligations.
There's been quite a bit of case law since Margaret Thatcher trounced the unions.
Surely the court would want us to honour the intention? It'll look at the yawning gap between intention and drafting and find in your favour.
Fantastic.
That's it, free.
If you don't turn up for your court appearance, I go to jail.
You couldn't do something else for me, Dad? Rory can't find a surety.
-I hardly know him, Charlie.
-He's one of the good guys.
He can't stay here.
It's not fair.
Okay.
Just make sure he gets to court.
Mr Justice Deed? -It doesn't end here, Dad.
-Not with that reporter onto it.
I'll talk to the press office, let them handle it.
I did try and get the Ice Maiden to come.
College is pretty hacked off with us.
They should be glad to have students who care about something.
They own the farm we trashed.
-Not a smart move.
-It's dirty agriculture.
-Why should they be immune? -They could boot you out.
-You could talk to the Vice-Chancellor.
-No! I got a pile of work on, Charlie.
This is where I draw the line.
The board could send them down.
These are young people who care, Colin.
We're all too in the thrall of commercial interests these days.
Sometimes direct action is the only way.
It might help Charlie's case if she were persuaded to move back to law.
-She's got a lawyer's mind.
-You didn't tell me you had moved.
-Three days in, to marine biology.
-Why? I think the lecturer might have something to do with it.
-Good-looking, 30, lives life to the full.
-Come off it.
-Charlie! -I'm trying to help.
The law is so boring, Dad.
It's wonderful, when you get it right for someone, you soar.
That's you, Dad.
I've got too many of the Ice Maiden and Grandpa's genes.
-You could get sent down.
-For trashing the wheat or changing my course? The sea is where we all came from.
If we can't keep that alive, the whole planet's doomed.
-You need the law to protect the environment.
-It's done precious little so far.
But it's not the law that's the problem.
It's the people who interpret it.
Keep your head down.
Tell Rory to.
Within five years, 90% of wheat will be genetically modified.
Trashing a few fields is hardly going to change anything.
It's time to raise the ante.
What do you say? -We'd better not get caught next time.
-We won't.
Police.
Get dressed.
(ALL CHANTING) Haart out! Haart out! Haart out! When you saw the prisoner prior to countersigning his gun application, how did he appear to you? He was rational.
In control.
Certainly someone we deemed responsible enough to own a gun.
Nothing about Mr Haart's manner alerted you to an underlying problem? That's correct, madam.
How many times had you met Mr Haart prior to the interview for the gun licence? I hadn't.
I knew who he was, of course.
Well, never having seen him before, how would you know if his behaviour was abnormal to him? Well, I'm sure Sergeant Bridges would have said.
Sergeant Bridges said, ''He was like a man beside himself, completely out of it''.
Thank you, Inspector.
That's all.
Inspector, how many applications for a gun licence have you dealt with from people in Mr Haart's circumstances? People who've had a daughter killed? None, my lord.
Well, didn't his application prompt you to examine his motives further? It did, my lord.
I ran a psychological profile.
He came out with a high score for rational, responsible behaviour.
And what are your qualifications for psychological profiling? I have a degree in psychology from Leeds University.
Haart out! Haart out! Haart out! (CHANTING CONTINUES) How is the media responding to Mr Justice Deed's daughter on the GMOs protest? What we're getting is generally sympathetic.
Dad is seen as caring and concerned.
That's a pity.
Find an aggressive investigative journalist.
There's something more to this story, I'm sure of it.
Hi.
Do you want to come back to the digs for an indigestible lunch? The police have arrested Rory.
They lifted him in the middle of the night like a terror squad.
Come on, even I don't believe they're that bad.
You've never been arrested.
We can't even find where they've taken him.
Coop, tell them we won't come back for toenail pie.
Get us some sandwiches instead, will you? -Why was he lifted? -Don't you watch the news? A warehouse of GM wheat got burnt the night before last.
Charlie, that's not trashing a field.
£2,000,000 worth of damage was done.
He's innocent.
Completely.
Entirely.
Totally.
There's no such person.
You've got to help him.
I can recommend a good lawyer.
-You can talk to your friend at Scotland Yard.
-I thought you said he was innocent.
Your policeman friend could impress that fact upon those dolts in Sussex.
Yes, good one.
Good one.
Yes! You should let me win occasionally, John.
-It'd be good for my ego.
-What about my ego, Row? -You must be in here every day.
-Laurel and Hardy say it's too risky.
All you have to do is walk down from the seventh floor at lunchtime.
That's risky for a heterosexual male.
Even a Deputy Assistant Commissioner.
This place is full of gay policemen at lunchtime.
Perhaps we should start betting.
If the stakes were high enough, I'd risk the gays.
How's that murder case going? If there was ever a man who should never have been put in the dock, it's that father.
Videotape evidence will convict him.
Unless the defence pulls something out of the bag.
Well, if I was the arresting officer there wouldn't have been any taped evidence.
Policemen nowadays can't think for themselves.
But that's not what you wanted to talk to me about.
Are you taking me to the Ivy or Stringfellows? -It's your turn to take me, Row.
-Not for the sort of help you want.
Why are you getting involved, John? It's risky.
If you'd collected a daughter or two from all those wives you had, you wouldn't have to ask.
-Is Charlie involved? -No, of course not.
The boy is just a friend.
Then why put yourself on offer for someone you hardly know? It's no longer easy to intervene, not even for a senior policeman.
Charlie thinks this boy is going to be someone.
You still like to mark out future players? ROW: Did I wake you? -Yeah, it was a late night, Row.
-Lucky you, Stay clear of Rory Brown, Tell Charlie, too, He's a bad lot, He's being held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, -Is the evidence against him sound? -It's sound, You asked me, John, I've told you, Make your own choices, Okay.
Thanks, Row.
Gotta go.
-Could I stay and take a bath, Judge? -Why not? Staff will call you a taxi.
They've probably already reported your visit to the Lord Chancellor's office.
I don't care what your policeman friend says.
Rory wasn't there.
You had me ask him the question.
You can't change the reality of the situation because you don't like the answer.
-That's what your friend is doing.
-Listen! People are putting themselves at risk for you and that idiot.
He didn't burn down that warehouse.
I know with absolute certainty he didn't.
I don't know anything with absolute certainty.
-And I send people down for life.
-Rory was with me all night.
Well, just make sure you're practising safe sex.
We're not sleeping together.
Tell the police about it, Charlie.
-Tell them he was with you.
They'll believe you.
-Oh, sure.
What about all this strong evidence your friend claims they have? Well, if you weren't in bed how were you so certain he didn't burn down the warehouse? Because we were breaking into a laboratory where they do work for the biotech companies.
Oh, Charlie, Charlie, what are you telling me? We were 90 miles away, trashing database for thousands of genetically modified We're talking serious crime here.
I'm a High Court judge.
-I have a duty to report criminal activities.
-Those companies are the criminals.
They don't know what's going to happen when they release this genetically modified crap.
-Then find another way to change things.
-These people own the government.
Yes, and your lot owns public opinion.
Getting a criminal record and ruining your future isn't going to achieve anything.
-Who cares about my future? -I do.
I care very much.
Stay! Woof! Woof! My lord, it's for your own protection.
I'm meeting a senior policeman.
How are you gonna keep me any safer than he does? Why did you take the job, if you don't like the trappings? So that I can take the 300% drop in salary.
You better tell me all you know.
-This Rory Brown problem's not going to go away.
-I've told you too much already.
-Just how involved is Charlie? -Charlie's not involved.
-The Sussex police think that she might be.
-They're way off beam.
Burn everything? My advice is to stay clear.
For your sake and Charlie's.
Rory Brown's a dope fiend, who gets himself out of trouble by putting others in the frame.
-Did you hear what they talked about? -He told me not to come into the gym.
-I thought you were supposed to stay close.
-I'd have had to fight him, sir.
A friend at the Yard told me Deputy Assistant Commissioner Colemore is making inquiries after one of the protestors arrested with His Lordship's daughter.
-Rory Brown.
-Excellent, Stephen.
Let me drop you.
It's only a question of time before you tell us what we want to know.
I didn't burn that warehouse.
I wasn't there.
-We have an informant who says you were.
-I wish I had been.
How involved is Mr Justice Deed's daughter? It doesn't matter about you.
What I'm going to do is offer you a very simple way of getting out of this.
-Is it all right to talk, Dad? -Depends what you say, my darling, -Rory's back.
-Good.
I don't know, He's sort of changed, He wants to talk to you, -What's this about, Charlie? -He wouldn't say.
He just said it was important.
Will you see him? Okay.
Have him call this number.
It's straightforward enough, Judge.
That sounds like blackmail, Rory Brown.
I'm just pointing out, sir.
If I go down, Charlie goes too.
The only alibi I've got for the warehouse burning is breaking into the laboratory.
Charlie was there.
Yes, I've two more witnesses to call for the prosecution, my lord, but I'm wondering in view of the hour, if this might not be a convenient moment.
Yes, that would be sensible.
Thank you.
USHER: All rise.
Shall I take your wig, my lord? Is there anything I can do? I can't let Charlie go down the tubes without doing something.
But there are inevitable consequences.
Well, I could keep an eye on the list, see who gets the young man's case.
You could maybe have a word with the judge.
-Is that how it works, Coop? -So I believe, my lord.
Judge.
I've told you before I prefer Judge.
Well, you'll have to be very careful.
If Willy Radcliff gets a whiff of it, it'll go straight back to the LCD.
I still have friends among the POLEs.
People Of Low Esteem.
That's what some of the circuit judges call us.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) -Mrs Mills, Judge.
-What can I do for you, Jo? I just wanted to see how you are.
You hardly interrupted all day.
-You don't like me interrupting.
-What's wrong? Nothing.
You are the only judge I've ever known to show any real feeling.
It's Charlie, isn't it? -Let's get a drink.
-What about Laurel and Hardy? Coop, send my driver on an errand, will you? I'll go to the loo and lose my policemen.
Shut up and listen, John.
-I understand you wanna get involved.
-Do you think I've been stupid? Very.
-You've spoken to Row Colemore.
-He's a friend.
Charlie thought Rory Brown was a friend.
This assumes that I'll remain on the bench.
I'll help my daughter and her friend and then resign.
-You might not be afforded that luxury.
-I intend to help any way I can.
Just remind the jury how the defendant said he'd like to kill Mr Redburn.
As violently as possible.
When he was, in your opinion, calm and rational, Dr Dundas? Yes, he was.
Isn't such a threat a fairly normal reaction from an angry, grieving father? -I have seen it before in grieving parents.
-Anger in grief is fairly common, is it? Very common, my lord.
Is it possible, Doctor, that in this state, a man might be provoked into a violent reaction -triggered by some later, less serious incident? -It is possible.
There is casework on this.
-Are you citing authority, Mrs Mills? -I will be doing so, my lord.
-You want to come back, Mr Stafford-Clark? -No, my lord.
Thank you, Dr Dundas.
That was my last witness and concludes the case for the prosecution, my lord.
Then, I'm sure the jury will enjoy an early day.
I remind you not to discuss this case other than among yourselves when gathered all together.
Thank you, till the morning.
All rise.
None of this would have happened had she gone to Oxford.
-Which is where she belongs.
-I wouldn't bet on it, knowing Charlie.
-She needs a firmer hand.
-Well, you could well be right, Joe, but neither one of us wants to lay that on her.
Here you go.
-My lord.
-If you want me to help with this mess Charlotte must agree to read law at Brasenose.
-I've spoken to the college.
-You're getting simple-minded, Joe.
You should spend some more time with her instead of being hacked off with her at spending so much time with her very common father.
Charlie will exercise choice to her last breath.
-Her choice.
-Look where it got her, on police bail.
I'd hoped you'd respond like a grandfather.
I don't enjoy seeing my granddaughter out of control.
She is a warm, responsive human being.
She is not out of control.
Then why is some wretched journalist trying to contact me at home concerning her relationship with someone called Rory Brown? Charlie thinks those companies are a bunch of criminals.
She's probably right.
Breaking the law is not the way to check them.
Joe, she's 1 9 years old.
She wants to change the world.
-Didn't you ever want to do that? -Emotional rubbish.
You've involved the Deputy Assistant Commissioner and now you're trying to involve me.
How do you know about Row Colemore? Nothing much escapes the Lord Chancellor's people.
Think about my offer.
I don't need to for one second.
No deal.
I shall have to report what you're asking to the proper authority.
Of course.
You're an emotional cripple.
You could never exercise judgement where feelings were involved.
I don't understand your florid language.
-I suspect it's to disguise your hypocrisy.
-My hypocrisy? You tried to gain the moral high ground while perverting the course of justice.
-We're talking about the future of my daughter.
-It was obvious from the start that yours was a career that would end ignominiously.
It's less a question of what you know than where you come from.
Well, you were always well-connected, Joe.
That's what stopped your bad judgements being overturned.
You're a time-server.
A bench-polisher.
You'll never make a law lord.
You're just not sharp enough.
Get out before I do something I might regret.
What's this? A spark of emotion? You do your worst.
I won't let Charlie suffer.
You look tired.
Is anything the matter? -Derek was bad again over the weekend.
-Has he been to see a doctor yet? He's scared of what they'll find.
My ex-father-in-law's sister's saying he's got a problem with his prostate and one of his testicles and he could have had them both sorted out when he was Derek's age.
I'll make him go.
The rapist from three weeks ago is back for sentence.
-Okay.
Let's get that in before Haart resumes.
-They're all ready, Judge.
-Any sign of the boy's case yet? -My spies are still looking out.
USHER: All rise.
Haart out! Haart out! Haart out! Haart out! (ALL CHEERING) Step aside! Quick! -This trial is a racist sham.
-Yeah, right on, brother.
JOHN: Unlucky.
Wrong trial.
Your timing is as ill-judged as your convictions.
I can't think that a narrow cell is more inviting than the pavement.
You can watch from the gallery and check if we're being racist.
But if you interrupt you go down the steps.
Take him out.
(ALL CHEERING) Before the jury returns, am I going to hear a submission from you, Mrs Mills? Yes, my lord, no case to answer.
The prosecution has conspicuously failed to establish in evidence that Mr Haart was other than provoked in the action he took.
Even though a certain time had elapsed, during which one might assume that reason had resumed its seat, they had failed to realise that, as in The Queen and Mary Loman, that provocation can be delayed by up to two years in grief and anger, and triggered by a lesser provocation.
Yes, I'm familiar with the authority.
I was the defending barrister.
However, it goes more to your defence than your submission.
I assume you will be submitting evidence as to what triggered the provocation after the delay and I look forward to it, but I'm afraid I'm against you here.
Let's have the jury back in.
-I call Dr Eugene Baldichino.
-Do I understand you're not calling your client? No, my lord.
Well, I'm obliged to warn you of the inference that might be drawn from the silence.
-Have you explained this to the defendant? -Yes, my lord.
Would a short adjournment be of assistance to you? -I am obliged, my lord.
-Very well.
Shall we say 20 minutes? It's a real risk.
Your best chance is to tell the jury exactly what provoked you.
I'm sure they'll respond in the way that we want them to.
That won't bring back Mona, Mrs Mills.
I know you're trying your best.
But nothing really matters anymore.
Mona was his life.
He was always talking about her, her achievements.
Next most important thing was his work at the hospice.
Following Mona's death, he only seemed to function on automatic pilot.
It is possible he had delayed some big emotional response to his daughter's death, awaiting the right or wrong sort of provocation to trigger it? Yes.
Can you explain that? Mr Haart was constantly dealing with intensely emotional situations.
Like other hospice staff working with the dying, he learnt to block against his emotions.
Do those blocked emotions ever emerge? Yes, at inappropriate times.
You can't shut that emotional response off forever.
-Yes, but in what circumstances -My lord, may I examine my own witness? I'm obliged, my lord.
Dr Baldichino, can you describe Mr Haart's response when the man who killed his daughter was sentenced? He went inward, as he did to the news of his daughter's death.
-Did you think that was the end of it? -No.
Mr Haart went deep into depression.
For this reason, I spent as much time as possible with him.
I feared that one day all this anger would surface.
In the most inappropriate manner, when the provocation reminded him of Mona's death.
-Yes.
-And in this state he'd ''function on automatic, often not aware of what he was doing''? Yes.
Familiar actions are performed without emotional connection.
Would he be aware of the consequences of his actions? For example, if he put a patient in a scalding bath, he'd burn, turn off her oxygen, she'd die? Yes, of course.
Are we to assume that he would have been aware of his intentions in stalking the man responsible for his daughter's death with a shotgun? My lord, I may have missed something but the defendant collected the licence and purchased the shotgun the same day that Mr Redburn died.
I don't recall evidence of the defendant stalking the deceased man with a shotgun.
The prosecution's case is that Mr Haart applied for the licence and bought the shotgun with the intention of killing Mr Redburn.
If that proves to be so, then stalking's not unreasonable.
Even if it is slightly emotive language, Mr Stafford-Clark.
Well, then, can we assume that in the clinical state you describe he'd have known what he was doing when going after Mr Redburn? -But of course.
-Thank you, Doctor.
Mrs Mills.
Despite being aware of what he was doing, Doctor, would Mr Haart have been able to stop himself reacting to a provocation? What sort of provocation are you suggesting, Mrs Mills? Well, for example, my lord, if Mr Haart saw the deceased doing what he was doing when he ran his daughter over, driving his lorry in a dangerous and illegal manner.
Well, are you offering in evidence that the defendant saw Mr Redburn driving his lorry illegally and dangerously before he was killed? -My lord, I must object to this hypothesis -No.
No, I will let the witness answer.
It goes to helping the jury understand the nature of provocation.
But keep in mind the defence hasn't offered this in evidence.
Put the question again.
Despite being aware of what he was doing, Doctor, would Mr Haart have been able to stop himself reacting to such provocation? -No, no, no, my lord, I really -It's arguable that he was provoked.
You can answer the question.
It would almost certainly have been spontaneous, unstoppable action -in the face of such provocation by Mr Redburn.
-Thank you, Dr Baldichino.
Before you step away, Doctor, can you tell us why the response is provoked later and not at the obvious time of the child's death? It's like a head of steam in a kettle.
For so long, the lid holds it down.
The provocation could be major or minor during this period.
The strength of the emotions being held down determines when it will blow.
Despite his suffering, was Mr Haart able to reason? -I would have to say yes.
-Thank you, Doctor.
Why do you have to interfere so much? What are you trying to do? Punish me for not sleeping with you? I know we have a social relationship, but I am still His Lordship, Mrs Mills.
Oh, you must be the most infuriating man to be married to.
Coop, would you be an angel and get Mrs Mills a soothing cup of tea? -I'm trying to get at the truth.
-Don't patronise me.
You undermined us.
Provocation won't run after that time lapse.
-The prosecution was giving me a free ride.
-I have to be seen to be fair.
That creep of a clerk talks to the LCD every five minutes.
Since when do you care what they think? I'll be less effective if the Permanent Secretary hauls me in.
God forbid that should happen.
Get me a drink.
And I wasn't a complete pain to live with.
You should try it one weekend.
I don't believe anyone lasts a whole weekend.
You didn't get Haart to testify.
I can't manhandle him.
If I put him in the witness box he'll say he shot Redburn and Redburn got what he deserved.
I'd have done the same in his shoes.
Well, we'll just have to get him to tell his story without going into the witness box, won't we? Would you like to have dinner? Sorry, too much work.
Fascinated to learn that Deed made an approach to a Lord Justice of Appeal, Joseph.
The man has no background, Simon.
It's a wonderful lever he's given us.
Trying to pervert the course of justice goes way beyond a slap from the Permanent Secretary.
-I'll throw Deed to my investigative journo.
-Well, don't forget that I am involved.
You correctly reported it to a Senior Law Officer in the Lord Chancellor's Department.
-I do want to help my granddaughter.
-Fine.
But we will have Deed's resignation at the end of it.
Mrs Channing, my lord.
What would the tabloid headlines be? ''Hanging Judge Hooked On Cowboy Films''? -Justice was straightforward in those days.
-It was totally barbaric.
Do you want some takeaway? It's the only way I can survive the digs' food.
Is there anyone here, John? -Only the servants.
-I meant anyone intimate.
-Would it matter? -Daddy seems to think so.
I was reluctant to come here.
Too many spies.
So I hear.
Daddy's taken action.
Does that make any sense? There's no longer a prima facie case against the boy.
-The prosecution will fall at committal.
-My God.
-The old man found some guts.
-Would you please tell me what's going on? You're looking very good, George.
-Yes, well, I made a lot of money this week.
-It suits you.
Just because they're corporate clients doesn't mean that they can't sometimes be right.
Well, at that level, business is always exploiting somebody.
-What about providing jobs? -(Posh accent) Oh, yes.
Providing jobs, of course.
Oh, God.
You're so superior.
-What? -You're very sexy when you're angry, George.
It doesn't work.
Not anymore, John.
(TURNS TV VOLUME UP) Just what is it they're up to? Daddy was being as secretive as John.
A friendly journalist told me Charlie is somehow involved.
With the boy whose case has fallen? God, I hate being shut out of anything.
I'll find out all I can.
Don't keep me in suspense.
It's good news, isn't it? It is good news? The warehouse burning charge is gone.
Thank you.
I can't pretend I'm sanguine about breaking into the lab.
-Were others involved besides Rory? -There were eight of us.
You see, there's the weakness.
Most common or garden crims are caught by people informing on them.
They're all committed eco-warriors.
Faced with going to prison, any one of them might sell you out.
-Your friend Rory for a start.
-No, he wouldn't.
He's done it before, Chas.
That's stupid.
I don't believe you.
Who said so? It wasn't for Rory's sake that Rory was pulled clear.
It was to stop him from selling you out.
-Come on, I'll buy you dinner.
-I can't, Dad.
I'm meeting someone.
Be careful who you get involved with in direct action.
I can't pull this trick again, Chas.
When you come to consider your verdict, ladies and gentlemen, I want you to keep to the forefront of your minds the three most salient facts that we heard in evidence.
The prisoner applied for a shotgun licence before Alex Redburn was sentenced.
He didn't snatch up a gun and rush to this man's house the moment he heard of the tragedy.
Four months elapsed between the death of his daughter and Mr Redburn getting sentenced and his subsequently being shot.
Four months for the defendant to plot and plan this execution and then calmly confess to his deed.
Now, let's examine the third point, the videotaped confession, to remind ourselves exactly how calm he was at this time.
I went to his house and waited for him to come home, When he arrived, I followed him along the path and shot him, OFFICER: Why did you shoot him, Maurice? Why now? JO: There was no plot.
There was no plan.
Mr Haart was provoked when he shot Mr Redburn.
I invite you to consider how Mr Haart was a different man after his daughter's death.
A man with the lid down, waiting to explode at the right provocation.
Some saw the very lenient way his daughter's killer was dealt with by the court as provocation.
But he suppressed that, as the psychiatrist explained, and the pressure continued to build.
Maurice Haart did not plan to kill Alex Redburn.
He was provoked into doing so as clearly as if Mr Redburn had goaded him directly over the death of his daughter.
Here was a man whose very life stopped with the death of his child.
And knowing, as we do, how he felt about Mona and knowing how we feel about our own children or grandchildren, ask yourselves if what he did isn't something you might have done in his shoes.
In arriving at a just and proper verdict, what you have to consider is whether Maurice Haart shot and killed Alex Redburn.
If you accept that he did in fact do the killing, what you then have to consider is whether he did so deliberately and with the intention of causing his death, or of causing him serious injury.
The prosecution say that he did.
They say that he planned the whole thing.
And that he executed that plan in cold blood.
They remind you of the delay involved.
But the defence has raised provocation.
Now, provocation means doing or saying something which causes a person to temporarily lose his reason, something which would cause a reasonable man of Mr Haart's age and character to do likewise.
Dr Baldichino says Mr Haart's frustration was building like a head of steam in a kettle and that provocation in this clinically depressed man might not bear any time relation to the original act.
Now, you've heard a lot of evidence and a good many submissions.
The only person who truly knows whether there was a trigger is the defendant, you may think.
You have not heard from him.
Now, if you find that the defendant killed Mr Redburn with the necessary intent, then you must be sure that he did so without provocation.
This is a very important decision.
While sentence is for me, it's pointless pretending that you don't know what the sentence is for murder.
-Manslaughter for a pound.
-I wouldn't take your money.
Coop, could you rustle up some coffee and sandwiches, please? -Not for me.
-JOHN: I'll eat his.
You could be in trouble.
The woman who runs PR at the Lord Chancellor's office has been asking awkward questions.
Is she getting anywhere? She's got a bent policeman to search the Police National Computer to check what moves I made around that warehouse burning.
She's asking if you're involved in a cover-up.
And what am I supposed to be covering up? That's what she's trying to find out.
She could be in trouble as well.
Conspiring with a police officer to illegally enter the police computer.
We can get her on that.
If I knew what I was steering anyone away from, I could steer them away from it.
(KNOCK AT DOOR) Yeah? Jury are coming back in, Your Lordship.
If you consider the defendant may have been provoked in the way that I explained to you then the correct verdict would be not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter.
Does that answer your question? All right, off you go.
Thank you, sir.
Let's take another vote around the table.
What's the point? Why don't we let him go? -Because he did it.
-Wouldn't you? It doesn't matter what she or anyone else would do in his shoes.
Course it does.
That's the whole point.
It's what any reasonable person would have done.
Not weeks and weeks after the event.
He was provoked.
It just took a long time to pop.
We don't know if there was a trigger.
You know what happens if we can't agree? -They'll declare a mistrial.
-Wrong.
We get to go home tonight.
And then we come back and argue like this again tomorrow and the day after that.
Well, I don't want to come back tomorrow.
I'll go along with you.
Guilty.
-But you thought he was rightly provoked -I've got a business to run.
-You can't change like that.
-Yes, he can.
He has to weigh the evidence, not change because of his business.
Take a vote on it.
Show of hands for guilty.
We've got 1 0-2 majority.
That'll do.
We're there.
At last.
We can live with 1 0-2.
We can't.
Not unless the judge so directs us.
Well, let's go and get his direction, then.
Those who say he's not guilty? What're you doing? Put your hand down.
I've changed me mind.
Now it's 9-3.
-You can't do that.
-You did.
Let's go through the evidence again.
I'll have a word, sir.
I'll be right there.
Mrs Mills, might I have a word? His Lordship might not be sitting much longer.
So I wouldn't get too close.
-Why are you saying this? -USHER: All rise.
Are you likely to reach a verdict in the imminent future? Say, before 4:30? I don't think so, my lord.
Very well.
Then I'm going to send you home for the night so you can continue discussing this most important matter tomorrow.
You are charged not to discuss this case other than with fellow jurors, when gathered all together.
You will report back to the jury room by 1 0 a.
m.
tomorrow.
USHER: All rise.
ALL: Haart out! Haart out! Haart out! Haart out! Simon? Willy Radcliff.
We have a potential problem.
A juror's been seen talking to and taking literature from a protestor.
Have you alerted His Lordship? You'd better tell him straightaway.
We could go for a retrial and still give it to the Senior Circuit Judge.
Deed would kick up a stink if we show our hand, How do you read the jury? Unreliable, In that case, we might have to force Deed's hand.
Let me know what he says, Willy, We have a problem, my lord.
The usher has seen a juror talking to a protester.
Is the usher sure it was a juror? Yes, of course.
Well, there's nothing to be done tonight.
-Will you deal with it in court, my lord? -Yes.
In camera, I think.
I'm given to understand that despite my explicit directions not to do so, one of you has had contact with one of the protesters outside.
Do you need to be named or will the person who did so stand up? What do you have to say for yourself, Mr Reid? I wanted some more information, my lord.
I wanted to ask them why they think the trial is racist.
Do you realise I could send you to prison for what you did? I could discharge the jury and then we'd have to start all over again.
It's hardly fair to the defendant or the taxpayer who would have to foot the bill.
-Are you a taxpayer, Mr Reid? -Yes, my lord, I own a small printing works.
Well, I don't doubt that your presence on the jury is difficult.
I don't doubt that you want to get back to your print works.
Well, I'm not going to send you to prison.
I'm not even going to stand you down and continue with 11 jurors.
Unless either counsel has any reasonable objection, I'm going to insist that you do your duty and trust to your honour that you weren't influenced.
-My lord -I think we've dealt with this in a proper adult way, Mr Stafford-Clark.
-Well, I guess -If you have no objections, Mrs Mills, I think we'll continue.
My lord, might we have a discussion in your room? Do you have right of audience in this court? No, I thought not.
This court is no longer in camera.
The jury will resume its deliberation.
USHER: All rise.
So what makes you think Dymock has anything on you? He's hanging around here.
I've been stupid for my daughter.
That's what fathers are for, John.
I mean, that's why Maurice Haart is facing life in prison.
Pleading provocation isn't gonna help me, Jo.
I'm sure he's got less than you think.
He's not the type to keep quiet.
Well, I'm assuming he can't afford to start all over again because the trial judge is disgraced.
Do one last thing for your client, Jo.
If the jury comes back guilty, which I'm sure they will, get him to make a statement from the dock.
Oh, what's the point? There's only one sentence if it's guilty.
I'm sure he'll want to tell his story.
I've got a dreary official dinner.
Ah, my lord.
On reflection, I think you made a wise decision this morning.
How's your lovely daughter? Keeping her out of trouble, are we? We're certainly trying, Simon.
Oh, this is Ishbel McDonald.
She handles PR for the Lord Chancellor's Department.
She has something for you.
That is being offered to The Guardian for publication tomorrow.
SIMON: It deals with how you conspired to help your daughter and Rory Brown avoid arson charges when they burned a warehouse of GM crops.
You might like to consider resignation as an alternative, my lord.
If you go to press, you'll be arrested.
You conspired with a police officer and illegally entered the police computer.
Now, you might not go to prison for this offence, but your career will be finished.
Yours too, when she tells who put her up to it.
Be careful how you dispose of that.
(COWBOY MOVIE PLAYING ON TV, PHONE RINGING) Excuse me, my lord.
There's a phone call.
It's your daughter.
Tell her I'll call back.
He'll call you back.
CHARLIE: What was that about? Is it difficult to talk? Too many extensions on the house phones.
Are you managing to stay out of trouble? I'm trying.
It's difficult.
Well, remember what I told you, darling.
Your friend could be dangerous.
I couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to you.
I've decided to cool it, I mean, it wouldn't do to have a record if I were to switch back to law.
RADCLIFF: Have you reached a verdict upon which at least 1 0 of you have agreed? We have.
How do you find the defendant, Maurice Haart, on the count of murder? Guilty or not guilty? Guilty.
Was that the verdict of you all or by a majority? It was a majority.
How many agreed and how many disagreed? Ten agreed and two disagreed.
Very well.
Just stay in your seats, will you, please? Throughout this trial you have chosen to remain silent, Mr Haart.
Often inferences are drawn as to that silence, rightly or wrongly.
You have been found guilty of murder.
There is only one sentence.
Before passing it is there anything you would like to say to this court? I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused everyone, especially Mrs Redburn.
I know she and Mr Redburn had divorced, but because of what happened, he had no chance to change.
People can change.
Suffering makes people change.
There's no way to understand why you survive your child.
Grief makes you angry.
There's nowhere to turn.
No escape.
Nine years of working in the hospice could no way prepare me for that.
I'd stay on at work, or walk the streets.
I couldn't go back home knowing I would see something that belongs to her, something I couldn't bear to give away.
When your mother died, Mona, Social Services said you were too little for me to cope on my own.
They wanted to put you in a foster home, but I wouldn't let them.
We were just fine.
I've asked myself over and over why you had to do that paper round.
I shouldn't have let you.
I shouldn't have.
You wanted to save up to go and see Nana in Jamaica.
You saved every single penny.
It's all in the post office.
£249.
You just needed £60 more.
I failed you.
And now you're gone.
Gone forever.
And nothing will ever bring you back.
I even did your round, just to be on the streets where you'd been.
Then one morning, I saw him.
I heard a screech of tyres (Whispering) He's innocent.
and there he was, driving that same lorry again.
It was just four weeks after the courts let him off.
There he was, like nothing had ever happened.
Something inside me snapped.
I just sat down on the kerb and cried.
(All whispering) He's not guilty.
I don't remember much after that.
(Whispering) We made a mistake.
I just wanted to stop him from killing Mona.
Stop him from killing my little girl.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Thank you, Mr Haart.
Perhaps someone has some tissues? Is there a possibility that you may have made a mistake, in the light of what you've just heard? My lord, you can't do this, the verdict is final.
It's perfectly in order to do so.
There is a precedent.
The Queen and Ms Casarotto is the authority That was a totally different situation.
The foreman made a mistake.
You're asking the jury to change their minds after what they've heard.
-The Queen and Maloney,,, -Calm yourself, Mr Stafford-Clark.
I'm just checking whether, as you so helpfully put it, the foreman made a mistake.
My lord my lord, we did get it wrong.
We want to change the verdict.
This is completely irregular.
No, mistakes do happen.
I accept what the jury has said.
Take the verdict again, Mr Clerk.
The judge is behind you, not in front.
Take the verdict again.
Now.
Do you find the defendant, Maurice Haart, guilty or not guilty of murder? Not guilty.
Do you find the defendant, in the alternative, guilty or not guilty of manslaughter by reason of provocation? We find the defendant not guilty.
You find him not guilty of murder and not guilty of manslaughter? Yes, my lord, not guilty.
Very well.
I accept your changed verdict.
Off you go, Mr Haart.
It's all over.
(CHEERING) USHER: All rise.
Do you think we'll get away with it? Well, it was a very popular decision, Judge.
Never second-guess a jury.
I didn't mean them to let him off completely.
That was brilliant, John.
How did you know the jury would change? I'm not convinced I'll get away with it.
Can't reverse it.
Well, the Permanent Secretary could carpet me or the Lord Chancellor.
Then I am in trouble.
There will be a letter of complaint from the LCD, my lord.
The jury made a genuine mistake.
That was no mistake, you made the jury change its mind.
You shouldn't be a victim of your emotions, my lord.
Oh, shouldn't I? I await the letter of complaint with interest.
Jo Better look up that case the prosecution yelled at me.
A little bit of ducking and diving might be called for.
I hope this means you're not resigning.
The law could do with more judges like you.
This judge could do with a drink, then lunch, then perhaps finally to make love to you.
Not necessarily in that order.
I love you too much for that, John.