|
Court:
|
CLM Court 3 10am |
|
Hearing date:
|
24/6/21 |
|
Bench (DJ or JPs)
|
2 Magistrates |
|
Charged with:
|
Willful Obstruction of the Highway |
|
Represented by:
|
Self represented. Given advice from John Valentine of XR
|
|
Please outline key points in prosecution and defence cases.
|
Defendant was arrested at Millbank on October 8th 2019 at about 8.30am under Section 14. She was released under investigation and subsequently charged with willful obstruction of the highway. PC Sani Mohammed was the arresting Officer and he was cross examined by the CPS and subsequently by Heather. Heather is quite deaf (she’s 75 years old) but very with it. She does wear a hearing aid but she wasn’t wearing it on the day of the arrest because she was worried she would lose it. It was very apparent today that she is deaf. She can lipread however. We were shown BWV of the arrest. There were a small group of people in the road. Defendant was holding a banner and singing. PC Mohammed asked them to move and then moved in on Heather from behind. From the footage she seemed quite surprised and declared that she did not want to be arrested. He insisted, and she was taken to Brixton Police Station, and not released until 2 am the following day. She had shingles at the time and the Nurse at the Police Station was very concerned about her. Defendant said that she had not heard the request to move. If she had she would have moved as she did not want to be arrested and only wanted a support role. This seemed true from the footage. She was shocked and said she not heard any warning. There was certainly no 5 stage procedure. She asked the PC if he was aware of her deafness and he said he wasn’t until they arrived at the PS at 11am. She had arrived at Millbank at 8.30am to find the rest of Sheffield XR and joined the group and she was arrested at 9.10 so they weren’t there very long. At no time did she sit down and she was moving around. The road was already cordoned off by police. Also, she was arrested with a fellow protester for the same offence but who was not charged. She then went into the witness box. She has worked as an Educational Psychologist and in South Africa and Zimbawe and knows first hand the devasting effects of Climate Change especially for the Southern Hemisphere. Farmers cannot make a living because of drought. Climate change affects real people. Heather made 2 main points in her defence. 1. A technical point that no-one had checked to see if she had heard the warning. If she had, she would have moved. 2. Articles 10 and 11 of the Human Rights Act. Medical evidence of her deafness was also provided from Hallamshire Hospital though it was from 2012 and she is a lot deafer now. Defendant gave an intelligent, truthful and emotional speech. |
|
Was defence evidence submitted in writing?
|
Witness statements were provided but were only read today. I’m not sure if defence evidence was submitted in writing.
|
|
Did defence witness(es) give evidence in person? Were they cross-examined?
|
Yes pleaded not guilty and she was cross examined. CPS asserted that she could have moved and carried out the protest on the pavement. |
|
What was the verdict?
|
The Magistrates conferred for a long time. When they came back the Clerk told them that Heather had a previous conviction from 27th September 2019, when she had a conditional discharge of 6 months and she was therefore in breach of it. (This makes it even more obvious that she did not want to be arrested on the 8th October) Guilty. |
|
What was the sentence?
|
I think it was 12 months conditional discharge but please check with Heather.
|
|
What costs were awarded?
|
£500 for the original fine. £750 for the October 8th Offence. £200 costs. £75 victim surcharge. £1525 total!! 7 days to pay. |
|
Please add anything else relevant.
|
They were cross that she had breached the original sentence. Defendant talked to Francesca from XR and she might appeal.
UPDATE: Appeal was successful – conviction overturned
|