Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2016 10:37:03 +0100 From: Reickard Masters Subject: Juvenile Detention 53 JUVENILE DETENTION Chapter 53 – The Retrial Josh was glad that he had been seeing a counsellor and had felt confident enough to discuss his situation with Sam and Simon with him. The counselling had also helped to build his courage concerning the retrial and the need to face those who had not served him as they should have. His time with the counsellor the day following his first sexual adventure with Simon had helped him to come to the answer he needed, although he had not yet shared it with Simon. Simon for his part had kept to his word and not asked Josh for an answer. Josh had chosen to leave Simon waiting until he was sure Sam would have got his letter and had the chance to read it. Josh wanted Sam to know the answer first. What Josh had not expected was to get a letter back from Sam. Mr. Succum had had a hand in it, for the letter had some corrections, still in Sam's shaky handwriting, but things Josh was sure he would not have seen for himself. And the envelope had a first class stamp on it rather than the franking of the Academy, so it had been posted privately. That letter cemented Josh's decision. With the rescheduling of their shifts at KFC, Josh and Simon would be on together most of the time. During a break in their first shift together Josh pulled the letter from Sam out of his pocket and folded it a bit, then passed it across to Simon and told him to read the part he had highlighted in red. Simon read it, then looked quizzically at Josh. "I don't get it. What does this mean?" "I wrote to Sam and told him about us. I told him about our time together the other night and I told him that I was glad he had asked me to do it. Then I told him that I was going to do it some more." "And this letter is from Sam, then?" "Yes. I didn't expect him to write back. As you know he is still learning to read and write, and probably somebody had to help him read my letter, but I kept it as simple as I could. He must have written back the same day he got my letter, because I got that yesterday, and I only wrote to him three days ago." "And this, `teach as you taught me,' is his way of saying that he's okay with us two doing things together." "It's a bit more than that. I can't let you read the whole letter because that would not be right for Sam, but what he is saying is that he wants me to be kind and gentle with you and teach you carefully and properly. " "No wonder he has got your heart. He sounds like a guy I want to meet as soon as I can. Will you let me meet him?" "Of course! I hope you and I can stay friends for a long time and that you and Sam can be friends too." Their conversation had to be put on hold as their break time had finished and they had to get back to work. They talked some more as they rode their bikes home together after their shift, but that was all they were able to do as Esther was at home when they got there, so they had no privacy for that sort of discussion. Also waiting for Josh when he got there was a letter that had had to be signed for on delivery. Esther handed it to Josh and saw the colour drain from his face when he noticed that it was from the sheriff. Josh tore the envelope open and pulled out the single sheet of paper inside. It was a summons to appear in court to face a retrial on the charges he had faced nearly a year previously. Josh's hand was shaking as he silently held the paper out. Simon reached for it but his mother beat him to it. She had a quick glance at it and then exclaimed, "That's next week! They haven't given you much time to prepare." "What is it?" Simon asked still holding his hand out. "It's a summons for me to attend court to answer charges alleged against me." "And it's next week? Mum, we are going to be there to support Josh, aren't we?" "You will be in school, and I'm not sure if your father can get time off, but I will certainly be there." "Can't I get some time off from school? We could say I'm sick or something." "No you can't, and no you won't. This whole retrial is about doing what is right and proper. Bunking school is the opposite of that. And you don't know how many days it will take." "Simon, thank you for wanting to be there with me. But your mum is right, and I know you will be with me in your head and heart if not your body. That will give me strength and courage too." Josh's mobile phone started to ring. Checking the screen before answering it he saw it was David Groggen. As Josh answered it he heard David's familiar voice, "Hi, Josh. Did you get a summons today?" "Hi, David. Yes, I have just got it now." "Okay. Can you come by the office tomorrow at ten to see me?" "Sure. If I can't get a lift is there somewhere safe to leave my bike?" "You can bring it into my office if need be, but there is a place at the back. Give me a ring when you get here and I will come down and meet you and show you where to put it. Do you have a chain for it?" "Yes, I do." "Good. I will see you tomorrow then. And don't worry. This case is a piece of cake, and you are going to get to eat it with icing on top too." "Okay, I'll be there. Bye." "The lawyer's office?" Esther asked. "Yeah. David wants to see me tomorrow at ten." "I'm afraid you will have to use your bike then. I have to go to work tomorrow and make sure I can get the time off next week." "You don't have to do that. I can go alone." "No, you had to face it alone the last time, and that wasn't right. I will not let you be alone this time too." "Thank you. I just don't know how I will ever repay you guys for what you have done for me." "There is nothing to repay. We are not doing this for reward but because we care. Seeing you receive the justice you deserve is enough." When Karl arrived home he announced to them that he had taken a week's leave for the next week. "I saw it on the courts calendar and went straight to my manager and asked for the time off. He didn't even argue. He just gave me the form and signed it as soon as I had filled it in. I didn't realise that he also had looked at what had happened to you, and he is on your side too. In fact most of the people at the courts are on your side, and there is one judge and one defence attorney who are probably very worried right now." David did not spend a lot of time with Josh the next day and just ran through some stuff that he wanted to make sure Josh understood and what he should say when asked certain questions. He left Josh with a list of things to work through and made him promise to phone or text David if he was not sure of anything. As he rode home, Josh was pleased that Esther had not taken time off; he had spent only a half hour or so with David, and that would have cost Esther a whole day's pay. That evening there was a discussion on what Josh should wear for the hearing. Josh told them that David had asked that he wear the exact same clothes that he had worn at the previous trial, for the first day at least, as he wanted to use that to make a point. He also said that David thought the hearing would only take the one day, as it was rather an open and shut case. What would take more were the claims and civil hearings later on. The next few days seemed to drag by interminably for Josh. His nerves were taking a pounding, but with the support of all three members of the Silvey family he was able to hold it together. Although nervous, he was able to enter the courtroom with an air of confidence. This time he sat next to David instead of having to stand in the dock with a guard beside him. As is customary, the prosecution made their presentation first. They put forward the exact same case they had at Josh's first trial. David passed Josh a quickly scribbled note. "They are not even trying to defend themselves with this drivel." The prosecution spent less that fifteen minutes presenting their case, stating that the evidence was before the court and there was no need to go over it again. Then David stood up to present the defence case. "Your Honour, it amazes me that the prosecution have not even made an attempt to explain the reason for not considering the evidence which has been presented to support this retrial. Once again, they are showing a complete disregard for justice and fairness. I believe this court will have no option but to declare my client innocent and that a great travesty was perpetrated in the farce of a trial which saw my client unlawfully detained for a period of six months. Your honour, I refer to the court's docket number `HMC four zero zero six two oblique seven five six A' and the supporting sworn statements of evidence. If it pleases the court I will quickly summarise the points made in this docket: First, the defendant's own claims, made to the police at the time of his arrest and subsequently to his state appointed defence counsel, were totally ignored and not investigated at all. Second, the defendant was not given an opportunity to speak for himself, despite his own plea for such an opportunity from the dock at the time of sentencing. Third, none of the others arrested at the same time claimed to know my client, yet this did not raise even a doubt amongst any of the authorities concerned. My client is also a full two years younger than any of the other defendants who were prosecuted for the same offence, and again no question was asked why this would be so, even though he is not related to any of them and there is no known association between my client and even one of the others co-accused with him. Finally I would draw your attention to the transcript of the hearing, where it is clearly recorded that my client called out from the dock and requested to be allowed to speak, a request that was ignored by both the judge and the defence. No investigation of any sort was made by those responsible for doing so. No, your honour, instead a person with no legal experience who took the time to listen to my client and who could see that he was speaking the truth did some private investigation and found the evidence that was needed while my client was serving this unlawful sentence. "I refer the court to the witness statements of three independent individuals who each testify that while the offence in question was being perpetrated, my client was some distance away watching a film in a cinema. The investigators of this case could have obtained this evidence with as little as two hours' work and prevented this mockery of our justice system. Additionally the defence made no attempt to establish a true understanding of my client's character. Had he done so, he would have been very aware that this action for which my client was jointly accused but separately tried was totally out of character for him. With that knowledge, he should have investigated further. But that did not happen. Furthermore, despite still being a legal minor, when his step-father refused to help him no social advocate was appointed to assist him. On the day of his trial he was not even given a cup of water to drink, such was the lack of care and concern by those in authority. Moreover his defence counsel gave him no advice and made no attempt to appeal the sentence after it was passed. "Your honour, the evidence already submitted clearly shows that my client is not a criminal, but a victim of crime. Mr. Joshua Tolmers is the victim of the crime of total lazy incompetence on the part of his defence counsel. He is the victim of the crime of total dereliction of duty on the part of the police investigators and the prosecution service. This court has no other option but to find my client innocent and order that his earlier conviction be expunged from the records." There followed a further hour of argument and counter argument by the prosecution and defence, during which Josh was called to the stand and questioned by both prosecution and defence. Timothy Clarke was also called to give verbal evidence and back up his written statement that Josh had been with him and the two girls at the cinema. Excerpts from the police interview statements were read to show that it had been recorded that Josh had claimed to be at the cinema; that his step father had refused to help him; and also that none of the others arrested with him admitted to knowing him, or even his name. To underline the incompetence of the defence lawyer, David pointed out that what Josh was dressed in for this court appearance was exactly what he was dressed in before, only it was cleaner because he had not been given the opportunity to obtain clean clothes and had been forced to appear in the only clothing he had had for the past thirteen days. "Yes, your honour, in addition to the full six months of his sentence, he had already been held in cells without access to clean clothes for two weeks." David emphasised this additional time Josh had spent in detention and that it had not been taken into account when calculating his release date. Once both sides had exhausted their arguments the judge announced an adjournment for one hour while he deliberated his decision. David took Josh and met up with Esther and Karl for a quick lunch in a little café near the courts. David kept a close eye on the time and made sure they were back outside the courtroom five minutes before the doors were opened to allow them in. As they were standing there Josh jumped when a hand came down on his shoulder from behind. Turning, Josh exclaimed, "Stephen!" and then hugged the owner of the hand. Karl had a huge grin on his face. "Allow me, Josh. Esther, David, may I introduce to you Stephen. Stephen, my wife Esther and Josh's defence counsel, David. Stephen is one of the officers from the Academy who has believed in Josh's innocence from the start." There was a round of hand shaking and greetings. "Josh, you have nothing to worry about. David here has painted such a strong picture that there is no doubt which way the judge will rule. It is just what else he might add to his ruling that we can't be sure of." The doors opened and they all filed back into the court room, Josh once more sitting beside David at the defence counsel's table and the lawyer for the prosecution sitting alone and looking rather chagrined. The clerk of the court called for all to rise and the judge entered and moved to his seat. There was a bit of shuffling and paper rustling as everyone sat down, but not a voice was heard, and once everyone was seated there was total silence in the court. The judge waited for a few moments and took a sip of water. "I have had the honour and privilege of being a judge in this court for over fifteen years," he began and then cleared his throat. "In all that time I have never been asked to preside over a hearing as distressing as this one. I am ashamed to have to admit that my profession, a noble profession, has been found wanting. However, I do find some small consolation in being able to start to put things right. I am pleased to be able to declare without any doubt whatsoever that you, mister Joshua Tolmers, are completely innocent and I hereby order that it be noted against the previous record of conviction that it is null and void. Furthermore, I order the Independent Police Complaints Commission to make a full and thorough investigation into the failings of the police investigation in this case. I also order that defence counsel Dozen Affald and judge Nessan Devlan be relieved of their duties until a full and thorough investigation of their actions has been undertaken by the Crown Prosecution Service. I further rule that the findings of these investigations be made public through the media at the conclusion of the investigation." Then turning to look directly at Josh he added, "Mr. Tolmers, you have this court's most sincere apologies for the manner in which you have been mistreated. You are an innocent victim of people who should have known and acted better. You have good counsel beside you there. I suggest you ask your counsel to begin civil proceedings to obtain some justice against those who have wronged you and in the process to claim recompense for your suffering. Unfortunately, we cannot give you back the time you have lost while you were incarcerated, nor can we undo the physical, mental and emotional anguish you must have suffered. All that must be factored into the compensation awarded to you. My hope is that by being made public no other innocent person will be made to suffer in the same way through a failing by those who should know better. Now before we go, you were not given the opportunity to speak in that first trial. You have been allowed to give your evidence today, but would you like the opportunity to say something to this court now?" Josh turned and looked at David, who stood. "Your honour, I believe my client would like to say something, but I ask your leave for a few minutes for him to think about it and for me to advise him." "Granted." David then spent a few minutes explaining to Josh the correct etiquette to use and making a few notes on a piece of paper to guide him. Josh then stood. "Your honour, after I was sentenced and led back to a holding cell to await my transport to the Academy, I resolved that I would do whatever I had to in order to ensure that I would be released at the earliest possible opportunity and would be released with a clean record. I promised myself that I would come back and get my name cleared. I had been abandoned by all. By my family, by the police, and by my defence counsel, but I knew that as long as I clung to my innocence one day I would see justice. Today you have given me that justice, for which I thank you most sincerely. Today, I can truly walk out of here with my head held high, but that is not enough to stop it happening again to someone else. I am, therefore, very grateful that you have ordered that investigations be carried out. Not so that I can be avenged. I have never looked for revenge, but lessons can be learned and hopefully something put in place to ensure that this situation is never repeated. That will be my reward for what I have suffered unjustly. Thank you." As Josh sat down the only sound that could be heard in the court was Esther weeping in the seat behind Josh. Josh turned and held out a hand to her in comfort. The judge sat silently for several moments, then he spoke: "Today in our hearing a young man has spoken with a maturity and wisdom well beyond his years. I foresee a great future for you, Mr. Tolmers. This court is now dismissed."