General Chat

The powers of magistrates courts are not unlimited and the defense could simply refuse to bring Janner before the court whatever the magistrate orders.

In that case the prosecution would have to go to a Crown Court for an indictment where the first job of the judge would be to decided whether Janner is fit to plead.

Even if Janner's team do bring him before the court he will only be asked for his name etc. and would be free to depart after a few minutes without entering any plea. There is no chance whatsoever of him being cross examined at the magistrates court.

All roads lead to Rome.

The thread would then move on to, yes, a Crown Court judge deciding if he is fit to plead. If the probable case that the judge decides not then there will be a "trial of facts". Should the judge decide that Janner is fit then there is a high probability that legal appeals on this could go on for months while Janner's health deteriorated further and/or the trial could collapse with no possibility of a retrial.

Judges do take account of possible outcomes of their decisions and take account of the costs to the Crown such that a "Trial of Facts" is by far the most likely outcome and those who want to see Janner himself in court will have to whistle down the wind.

Some might say that the current trend to harry the reputations of the so called great and the good when they are deceased or in failing health is poor justice and not a great way of spending public funds. Meanwhile there are plenty of live and bouncing evil people getting away with serious crime.

At the end of the day the law is about finding the truth not wreaking vengeance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8dZ0lYU8Kc

The difference between Janner and Heath is that Janner is alive.

Most of the time victims of historical abuse just want to be believed. If the only way is a "trial of facts", then its better than nothing.

Janner Justice.

Det has reinforced what we have said, the abused and their families want the victim statements to be heard and taken seriously.

The satisfaction comes from that (even if it is only a trial of facts) together with the abuser's reputation (dead or alive) to accurately reflect their true character.

Once again I have to agree with the intelligent response from Rollo

Janner has failed to attend court

The magistrate is prepared to order Janner's arrest!

Justice must be a level playing field and he should not receive special treatment.

It is vital that justice is administered in some form, evenly and fairly for all. To live outside the law, you must be honest.

Ditch the hierarchy.

Janner has just arrived at court.

up before the judge as we speak - 2:00 pm

The case is due to be referred to Southwark Crown court on 1st Sept apparently.

His appearance lasted 59 seconds!

So he didn't even have to listen to the 22 charges which are being read out now.

well according to his family he's innocent :-S

According to the law he's innocent

Never judge a chap by the brand name on the dishevelled clothes he wears.

Victims are expressing their gratitude that the judge insisted on his appearance, that to them is a small but significant victory.

but he probably did do it to someone else :-(

We should not forget the other innocent victim who is suffering terribly at this time.

My heart goes out to Marion Janner who is having to accompany her father during this trial.

indeed Sharron - felt the same for Rolf Harris's wife and daughter - terrible mixed emotions they must have

Pain feels sharper when inflicted by their own kind or those closest family. Their pain is their own & nobody else can suffer it for them.

Meanwhile, the mystery rolls on being regularly discussed & debated in the media.

Unfortunately for the family, the prerogative of some publications to entertain has superseded that to inform with comments indistinguishable from news, fact & conjecture simply to create blockbuster headlines.