see below for explanation.
Prosecuting Barrister and LABOUR / SDP M.P. - NEVILLE SANDELSON.
Stand well back in case he loses his cool.
Click on image to
ENLARGE textual details.
Barrister who intervened in Courtroon fracas last week.
-------------------------------------The above quite unconnected
EVENING STANDARD report (of 14 May) has triggered a kindred 1977 memory and as
this blogger was the mid-1970's victim of the
OLD BAILEY "bewigged abuser" Neville Sandelson I've decided to produce this commemorative blogspot.
------------------------ Old fogey
Sandelson (then aged 54) is dead now so he's unlikely to repeat his unruly somewhat unique
OLD BAILEY leading prosecution counsel courtroom antics. At the time he was also the
Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington. In 1981 he defecated to the then newly malformed
SDP. --------------------------So what were the why's n wherefores of
this unruly very very rare OLD BAILEY style bewigged harange. -------------------------------The 'Seventies were a period in which the
Criminal Justice System and especially the misuse by the police, Courts and prosecuting authorities of
evidence of identification came in for extreme scrutiny and political criticism by highly motivated campaigning organisations. The issues became extremely touchy
politically. Organisations which overlapped in highlighting the shortcomings of the policing, Criminal Justice and the
Prison systems made it very plain indeed to those in power that something needed to be done and that the campaigns were not going to go away.
--------------------------
The publication
VERBALS (reproduced above) was produced by
JUSTICE AGAINST THE IDENTIFICATION LAWS (JAIL). This
organisation itself had been spawned by activists and other interests at the heart of
radical Prison Reform groups and additonally there'd been prosecutions against
PETER HAIN for BANK ROBBERY (1976) and
EAST ENDER GEORGE DAVIS for ARMED ROBBERY (1974) - cases in which
unreliable IDENTIFICATION EVIDENCE featured and fed the fight back incredibly. Hence the formation of the organisation
JAIL. Even the defence campaigns organised around those accused of ANGRY BRIGADE participation significantly focussed political fight back campaigns on policing and the criminal justice system - especially through the UP AGAINST THE LAW COLECTIVE (UPAL). ----------------------------This blogger - see my blogger
"profile" details - was greatly involved in those campaigns and
in 1977 was full time secretrary for JAIL's organisation - which necessitated that I liased with those seeking advice in relation to the misuse within the policing and CRIMINAL JUSTICE systems of IDENTIFICATION EVIDENCE.
JAIL was a bonafide orgnisatation to whom accused persons could write for help while on remand awaiting trial and when court proceedings such as at the OLD BAILEY fell due
JAIL staff from time to time sat in court in the public gallery to listen and bear witness.
-----------------Such was the case at the
Old Bailey in 1977 when a defendant accused of an
Essex Post Office robbery offence stood trial. This defendant had been visited in prison and advised about how the evidence might proceed and this blogger had watched the Old Bailey case for 2 days or so. During this 2 day period there had been recesses when refreshment had been taken in the
Old Bailey Refrectory - it became clear that prosecutor
Neville Sandelson was well aware that
JAIL had been scrutinising the case he was pursuing and during one recess he attempted to converse with this blogger in the Refectory. He was well aware also (
being an MP) how politically sensitive in those times identification evidence
had become and
JAIL was greatly in the forefront so given this he attempted to strike up a passing conversation. This blogger discouraged him by simply replying that he did not to talk.
--------------------------On the last day in this case that this blogger attended Court
SANDELSON had been making his closing speech for the prosecution and had largely finished at mid-day when the court rose for lunch. I stood in the overhead public gallery to file out and
SANDELSON still in the well of the court eye balled me and cockily cat-called
"Is that alright for you then!" - meaning he'd put in very strong closing case against the accused. I had said absolutely nothing and was very shocked as I had attended courts many times and such an outburst was amazing. I did respond to reply just as I filed out towards the Gallery attendant - I simply asserted
"Yes I'll be down your constituency next week" - my meaning being that I would go there to campaign for legal reform of identification evidence useages.
-----------------------------Had lunch and returned to Court
at 2pm. I was refused admission to the public gallery because Sandelson had complained about my presence. The brief 1978 report (reproduced above) of this incident retailed in
VERBALS (not penned by me) was inaccurate. I
was barred but I simply left the
Old Bailey precincts. I wouldn't have minded on the one hand having an opportunity to explain to the Court
what had actually happened because instead it was acting solely on
SANDELSON's verbal but on the other hand I certainly wanted to avoid causing any ongoing problem whatever for the accused.
If I had initiated such an exchange I simply don't believe I would not have been done for contempt of court.---------------------So that was it. Cat-called from the well of an Old Bailey courtroom by a bewigged prosecuting Counsel who also a flakey LABOUR PARTY M.P.
Well courtesy of The Guardian we've a modest useable "cheesy 
