Section 14 - Guilty: 29/11/19

Charge
Outcome
Court date

Court:

 

City of London Magistrates, Court 2

Hearing date:

 

Friday 29 Nov 2019

Bench (DJ or JPs)

 

DJ Noble

Charged with:

 

Non-compliance Section 14, WB, 18 April

Represented by:

 

Self

Please outline key points prosecution and defence case(s).

 

P: read statement by CI Galvin justifying renewal of Section 14 originally imposed by CI McMillan, authorizing same conditions. Also statement by arresting officer PC Khan, preceding court viewing of bodyworn. This showed PC’s warnings, defendant’s arrest and carrying to van while being cautioned.

D: Not challenging circumstances of arrest; Necessity. Good speech about worsening threats, gov’t inaction, etc. ‘I felt I had no other choice’.

Was defence evidence submitted in writing?

 

No

 

 

 

Did defence witness(es) give evidence in person? Were they cross-examined?

 

Yes

 

Not exactly. Judge inquired about immediacy of threat, intrinsic to ‘legal definition of Necessity’. Defendant admitted he was not under that kind of immediate threat while sitting on bridge.  

What was the verdict?

 

Guilty

What was the sentence?

 

9 months conditional discharge

What costs were awarded?

 

Crown requested £620. £200 + 20 surcharge were awarded, with 28 days to pay.

Please add anything else relevant.

 

DJ Noble, as he has done before, said he accepted reality of climate crisis and sincerity of defendant. But his responsibility was to ‘uphold the law’.

Defendant read a further statement after sentence, explaining that ‘my government is breaking the social contract’.