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The judge in the Ricky Jones case


"Her Honour Judge Dean is listed as a Diversity and Community Relations Judge (DCRJ), a role that involves promoting diversity and community engagement in the judicial system.

"HHJ Dean covers the area around Snaresbrook Crown Court. She has also supported diversity efforts, such as assisting with visits from Diversity and Community Relations Magistrates at Harrow Crown Court. Additionally, her participation in events like the London Law Collective, where she delivered a keynote speech, highlights her role in inspiring diversity in the legal profession.

"Diversity and Community Relations Judges across England and Wales undertake a huge amount of community engagement in a voluntary capacity. They also seek to encourage legal professionals from under-represented groups to consider a judicial career."

https://www.judiciary.uk/about-the-judiciary/who-are-the-judiciary/list-of-members-of-the-judiciary/diversity-and-community-relations-judges-list/


It was probably her wise and expert legal guidance in the field of diversity that allowed the jury to return a verdict of Not Guilty, despite overwhelming evidence of guilt, in just thirty minutes

No, it was probably the fact the jury was from overwhelmingly Labour Walthamstow. Had the jury been from say heavily Reform Basildon the verdict may have been different.

Judges in criminal trials normally sentence on the law and guidelines whatever their political views

Even in Labour Walthamstow what are the chances that all 12 jury members would all be left-wingers? Even in the Colston Four trial there was 1 jury member who wanted them found guilty.

You only need 3 jurors to say 'Not Guilty, you can't change my mind" to guarantee an acquittal (or a retrial in specific situations)

So the jury in the Jones case might have had just three stubborn individuals. And if there was bias, it might have been due to ethnicity rather than politics (but we don't know in this instance, of course)

I posted evidence earlier of racial bias in jurors in the USA. Black American jurors are far more likely to acquit black defendants than white defendants, whereas white jurors show little bias. It would be interesting to find out if there is a similar pattern in the UK

Stubbornness isn't consistent with a 30 minute verdict. Given the timeframe, it's pretty likely that they were all agreed.

And given the different histories of racism in the UK and USA, a shiny sixpence says that the racial bias issue among juries is less of an effect here than there.

How much is a shiny (=mint condition) sixpence worth nowadays?

The judge in the Ricky Jones case


"Her Honour Judge Dean is listed as a Diversity and Community Relations Judge (DCRJ), a role that involves promoting diversity and community engagement in the judicial system.

"HHJ Dean covers the area around Snaresbrook Crown Court. She has also supported diversity efforts, such as assisting with visits from Diversity and Community Relations Magistrates at Harrow Crown Court. Additionally, her participation in events like the London Law Collective, where she delivered a keynote speech, highlights her role in inspiring diversity in the legal profession.

"Diversity and Community Relations Judges across England and Wales undertake a huge amount of community engagement in a voluntary capacity. They also seek to encourage legal professionals from under-represented groups to consider a judicial career."

https://www.judiciary.uk/about-the-judiciary/who-are-the-judiciary/list-of-members-of-the-judiciary/diversity-and-community-relations-judges-list/


It was probably her wise and expert legal guidance in the field of diversity that allowed the jury to return a verdict of Not Guilty, despite overwhelming evidence of guilt, in just thirty minutes

No, it was probably the fact the jury was from overwhelmingly Labour Walthamstow. Had the jury been from say heavily Reform Basildon the verdict may have been different.

Judges in criminal trials normally sentence on the law and guidelines whatever their political views

Even in Labour Walthamstow what are the chances that all 12 jury members would all be left-wingers? Even in the Colston Four trial there was 1 jury member who wanted them found guilty.

You only need 3 jurors to say 'Not Guilty, you can't change my mind" to guarantee an acquittal (or a retrial in specific situations)

So the jury in the Jones case might have had just three stubborn individuals. And if there was bias, it might have been due to ethnicity rather than politics (but we don't know in this instance, of course)

I posted evidence earlier of racial bias in jurors in the USA. Black American jurors are far more likely to acquit black defendants than white defendants, whereas white jurors show little bias. It would be interesting to find out if there is a similar pattern in the UK

Stubbornness isn't consistent with a 30 minute verdict. Given the timeframe, it's pretty likely that they were all agreed.

And given the different histories of racism in the UK and USA, a shiny sixpence says that the racial bias issue among juries is less of an effect here than there.

LOL, Trump has got the USAF lining up F22s to meet Putin.

https://x.com/bohuslavskakate/status/1956416191678820441

Difficult to deny he’s showing his strength to the enemy.

I’ll deny it.
He’s a raddled old twat showing his pectoral implants to another raddled old twat. In Bone Spurs’ head the USAF is him.

Ever so slightly off topic, I was clearing out a corner of my flat this afternoon. 20 years of accumulated crap. Mostly meaningless. Admin. Paperwork. A useless printer. All purged. Yay

But then suddenly I came across a sketch book that belonged to my ex wife (who I loved very much and only split with coz she wanted babies and I didn’t). It was full of her crazy funny eccentric drawings - even pages embroidered with wool. The epic of Gilgamesh in crayon. All her creativity and wit and uniqueness in o one pad of paper

And I sat there and, I confess, I slightly cried. Just a few manly tears but they were real

What is that? I was perfectly content - happy even. Then suddenly a land mine of emotion and memory exploded in my face and I was plunged into intense sadness

What is the psychology? The evolutionary explanation for these emotions? Very strange

It’s gone now. I’m fine again. But wow

Give it to your daughter and ask her to deal with it as she deems fit. If you want to keep it, drop hints to that effect.

Er, what? Thanks for replying but this was my ex wife’s sketch pad. Nothing to do with my kids (which is a sadness in itself but another story)

It’s the mystery of consciousness. How can molecules and atoms - meat and blood - get together and make memory that makes “sadness” that makes salt water run down my face? And why? What’s the evolutionary purpose? To discourage divorce?!

And these are thoughts, not even thoughts in the moment - memories of previous thoughts….

Sorry. I assumed your daughter was both you and your ex wife’s joint offspring. I should have read your post more closely. (Checks personal IQ and finds failures.)

In fairness, it wasn't an unreasonable conclusion to jump to without a careful reading of the post and/or particularly detailed knowledge of Leon's back story.

I cried unexpectedly too today. I was (because they asked) telling the girls the story of our miscarriage before our eldest was born, and suddenly all the rawness of it came back. All is fiine now of course, and if we hadn't lost that one we wouldn't have the ones we have now - but no way of knowing that at the time.

Anyway, keeping it light, I've had a splendid day. Llandudno is wonderful. Like, I imagine, British seaside towns used to be - but somehow hasn't been killed off by cheap trips abroad like others have. And its setting is magical. The Great Orme derives its name from 'worm' in its ancient sense of wingless dragon, and I can completely see why.

I think this should be an annual event. A day in summer PBers should talk about when and why they last cried

Not obligatory but a nice contrast to the macho geekery

Also sorry to hear your story, glad it turned out ok in so many ways!

On topic, this happened to me the other day sitting on a train. Couple get on, looks like they are heading for the airport for a holiday.

She is miffed because he has walked her to the 1713 express train rather than their intended 1731 train. This means they will be early, and thus have to change mid-journey and wait 15 minutes or so to get their original train as the express one isn't stopping at their final station.

Not a full blown row, just a series of half-muttered bitter nips, jibes, barbs and non-sequiturs at each other about the fact somehow they've ended up on this slightly earlier train. Netted out they have to wait the same amount of time either way, either at the original station to get a slightly later train or mid journey to transfer to the original train, but they are guaranteed to get there at the original intended time. Still, this displeases her immensely.

I wasn't really trying to listen in or block them out either way, but was hard to avoid somehow being privy to it. I felt quite sorry for the guy. Not "it's your fault we were late, missed our train and flight and now the holiday is RUINED!!" but instead "it's your fault we were early BECAUSE YOU WOULDN'T LISTEN TO ME, now we have to change trains so that we get to the destination at exactly the original time we intended anyway".

I did wonder (a) how their holiday would go and (b) how much mileage was left in the relationship.

My wife and I were clambering along the ridge of Grib Goch, and encountered a couple having an almighty public row. He hadn't told her, that there was a sheer drop on her right, and a sheer drop on her left. Like Solarflare I was left wondering what happened next.