My Story... (LONG)... Input helpful and I am happy to discuss.

[RFLH]

keep it safe and only show your legal until its safe to tell us what it is.

I hope this is the piece of information that clears you.

[lawlessone2009]

RFLH:

Thanks. My info is merely an extension of my thoughts. I massively over analyse everything which you've probably noticed.

When doing this I have stumbled across quite a few minor issues which niggled me. It took a long time and quite a bit of reading before I realised that these are deliberately ignored. If they are deliberately ignored in my case then how many others will there be?

I of course am at the early stages but once I have the paperwork and a date things become even more of a blur no doubt so I am formulating everything just now. Information can be presented and expanded upon, in an ever evolutionary manner, until we all get to a stage where justice begins to be balanced out again before the state move the goal posts due to the lobbyists moaning.......

There is so much actually wrong with the justice system that it's an uphill struggle especially after years of New Labour rushing through poor legislation... I might as well expend some energy like so many others are and share my feelings. It'll take a wee while to get it formulated but I will maybe contact you or the other mods and see about the possibilities of a sticky or a mass discussion of it...

[RFLH]

ok - fair enough!

[Saffron]

Good to hear you have been proactive and have found something useful to your defence. As RFLH says, give it to your sol and don't tell us what it is until it's safe to do so.

[lawlessone2009]

It's more than safe to share the information just now. All the immediate leg work has been done by the Police so there is no possibility of them being able to back-track.

I can't share it at the mo as I haven't been able to compile it into a meaningful snippet of info...

Thanks guys for your inputs. I generally miss the 'don't share' view as I like being a back to front bugger...

[RFLH]

nowt wrong with that!!

[lawlessone2009]

Oh my....

There has now been a strange twist!

I mentioned my brothers car being vandalised somewhere in my autobiography...

Well, my mum and dad seen the person that was the very most probable person who did vandalise it and from their description I gave them a name.

I basically more or less knew who had done it from their details given to me.

Well... The Police followed it up!

They have a guilty confession and a trial set for the end of this month.

The twist??? Not only was it the male who's name I gave them from the description but ALSO the girl that has made the allegation of rape against me!

I never for a second imagined that this would happen and really do not know what to make of it. Is it a positive thing?

The girl will get a 'lighter' sentence apparently due to the circumstances. Is that true? The 'circumstances' haven't been put before a court yet so what's the libel if she does advance the 'circumstances' as mitigation?

There is also a notorious local paper that is brimming full of 'court roundups' and my parents are **** scared that the mitigation and lesser sentence are mentioned! Would this be possible?

Further to this, the Police stated that the girl that made the allegation put in her statement that after this incident she was comforted in the house and never left it yet she has just went and stated that not long after this incident she was up vandalising my brothers car (basically whilst she was sleeping and being comforted).

It has also progressed from the initial statement stage to the precognition so if she has stated the same as the original statement then would that not cause a few issues? It appears the Police have allowed the CPS time to do the precognition BEFORE questioning them in relation to the vandalism!

I've still to go see the actual statements so I am not sure whether to get my hopes up or not...............

[Rights Fighter]

They have a guilty confession and a trial set for the end of this month.

If they have admitted guilt there will be no trial - just the formal conviction and sentence hearing.

From what you say, there will be some useful info you can use as defence material.

[lawlessone2009]

Sorry RF, only had about 2 hours sleep in the past 24 or 25 or 26 hours or something like that. Sleeps been bad...

Meant the mitigation statement before the court... How far can they legally go without actually having a conviction to back up what seems to be being proposed ie:

"He raped me so I vandalised his brothers car thinking it was his even though we've known him for years yet didn't know he drove a bright yellow car..."

That kind of angle... Are the Police setting them up to take a fall? I'm finding putting info together quite difficult even when I do sleep. I get a week or two where I quieten down and then BHAM another piece of info presents itself and the dynamics change all over again...

[lawlessone2009]

My mum who's obsessed with what people think and say had a phone call with the solicitor last week. She asked about the possibilities of the separate case being put forward on the mitigating grounds that I detailed, the solicitor said he'd look into it and that the local paper only printed what the courts wanted it to print, said many cases go unreported. Also indicated that the court has a say in the 'way' a case is put forward in the paper...

Do the courts control the media? (getting my tinfoil hat out as I type...)

He seems to be saying that he'll make sure that the details aren't in the paper. Wouldn't imagine they would be anyway...

As a side line. It's basically 2 months since the charge and there is still not one piece of evidence been given to my solicitor. The precognition statements, or indeed any statements, haven't come through! Nothing's been done at all and the solicitor cheekily admitted that he's done nothing as there is nothing for him to do without any info being presented from the crown... I'm reading it as a positive at the mo and actually finding all the little signs quite promising. Saying that, everything will probably turn up tomorrow now....

Thanks again guys and I'll only really update this now when things move on. Happy that I've passed the point of ignorant argument and ranting and can now move on to learning... Still got questions but most are being answered through other threads and would prefer to only ask my own if I am either panic stricken or can't find em.....

[Casehardened]

I can understand your mum being worried about the details getting out; apart from anything else she's obviously concerned for your reputation, all mums want the best for their son(s)

My thoughts on the matter is that, whilst papers are always grubbing around for bad news to put in the paper, a car being vandalised is fairly small beer, even if it's in a rural part of Scotland rather than the Gorbals, and the trial will hardly warrant a report especially, as is quite likely, there is something more interesting in the next room.

If, on the other hand, the 'mitigating circumstances' are put forward at the trial, and a journalist is present it would be quite proper for a solicitor (but don't know whether this should be yours or your brother's) to request the court for a 'gagging' order on the press.

After all this 'news' would be prejudicial to your trial as potential members of the jury may well read this in the paper and be unduly influenced (as in 'I read it in the paper therefore it must be true')

I don't know how seriously vandalism it taken in Scotland (in the UK it would be dealt with in a magistrates court & the defendant could even represent themselves) but if the case is dealt with in a 'proper' court maybe the solicitor could make prior representation not to get the 'mitigating circumstances' disclosed on the grounds of prejudice.

[Rights Fighter]

Requests for gagging orders do not always succeed unfortunately. There has to be a good reason such as young children at school who could be targeted. Courts seem to believe that adults who could be targeted can look after themselves so are fair game.

[RFLH]

Thanks for the last paragraph Lawless - it goes to show that a stern talking to works and you do get more help when you listen!!

[Izzy]

I'm a bit like your Mum Lawless, I was really worried about something appearing in our local paper. I was told that the court papers are left for the journalists to see and choose what they want to put in the paper.
A car being vandalised would be heard in the local Sheriff Court I would imagine and I would think it would be unlikely to be big news and there are loads of cases that go unreported every day.

[lawlessone2009]

I spoke to soon... Must be that 6th sense...

On the off chance of paperwork being in I popped into the solicitors today, mainly to get a copy of the 'summary of evidence' which is far more than I have just now. I only have my memory which isn't the best...

Today, yep TODAY, the witness statements from the precognition turned up. I stated it in my last post and then I kind of conjured up the image of me tempting fate and BANG, it happened.

I need to keep my mouth shut!

I do have a question and it's one that's causing me grief with a traffic matter too (speeding). I put in a request in court (traffic matter) for disclosure of evidence, this was greeted with a "you'll need to go to the COPFS office and view what they would like to show you". Basically I can't actually hold the physical bits of paper (evidence) that are going to be used against me and take them home for analysis. The same is now true for this allegation, I can't have 'copies' of the witness statements. Does anyone know why this is?

On the other ground I spoke about that you guys have been helpful. My mother is frightened in case there is vigilante attacks on her house etc. Nobody really knows where I live (don't share info) but they obviously know where my parents do. My solicitor has intimated that he is writing to the prosecution to ask that if there is a case of mitigation put forward on the grounds stated then the PF should be rejecting it on some kind of ground (memory has slipped a little...). He feels that it won't happen. I've to keep an eye on the court roles for the day the case will be calling and my mother is going to the court to sit in and see what is said, bless her.

The local papers have had the guy who's pleaded guilty in their sights for a while. Every case against him has been printed as far as I know. I've also went through (shouted at over the phone) the paper a few years back when they almost printed a case about me (motoring related), they didn't in the end. I only did it to save parents face. The paper just about prints anything court wise, it's a very very petty paper and it's readership seem to love silly stories about the theft of wheel trims and bottles of vodka from the local supermarket.....

Both the vandalism and also my case will be calling in the Sheriff Court from what I am now being led to believe. I assumed a move to the High Court but apparently either is good enough in Scotland.

I understand the 'prejudicial' angle and would quite like this to happen...

As for 'stern talking too'....... Thanks. I'm not the quickest at times...