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Mon, Jan 9, 1978
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. However the Defence suggest that Mr. Simon was making an unwanted homosexual advance to the young man who pushed him away, resulting in him accidentally falling and injuring himself on the slippery floor.
Mon, Jan 16, 1978
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 car park by Miller and thrown into the path of a reversing car, causing him permanent injuries. Miller does not deny that he hit Dewhurst but says he only did so once earlier in the pub - he was offended by Dewhurst laughing at jokes against the disabled by a comedian which especially upset him as his own daughter has spina bifida. He argues Dewhurst and his girlfriend Lorraine Dilkes have invented the later "attack" and he was struck by the car in an unrelated accident.
Mon, Jan 23, 1978
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.
Mon, Jan 30, 1978
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.
Mon, Feb 6, 1978
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.
Mon, Feb 20, 1978
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. They say her motivation was anger at his new relationship and followed a period of harassment. Miss Phillips denies both charges. She had spent nine months in hospital following a nervous breakdown and was discharged not long before the alleged offences. The defence argue that due to this treatment and ongoing medication she has not been responsible for her actions.
Mon, Feb 27, 1978
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.
Mon, Mar 13, 1978
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. However Marianne insists that both men knew of her sex at birth and accepted her desire to change her sex. There was therefore no deception when they gave her property.
Mon, Mar 20, 1978
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.
Mon, Apr 3, 1978
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. He asserts though that far from being one of the leading inmates he was being threatened by others; he had no intention of stealing and handed in the goods with the intention of being transferred to a safer institution.
Mon, Apr 10, 1978
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.