In August I had the balls to stand up to my drug dealing neighbour who had been terrorising the area for about a year.
The police came and I was arrested, locked up for the night, then released and fined £80 for being 'drunk and disorderly'.
Was I drunk? Yes. Was I disorderly? Well, I swore repeatedly in the presence of police officers. Apparently thats a 'yes'.
I appealed against the fine. Everybody in the street was outraged that I'd been fined in the first place. I'd only done what others wished they'd had the courage to do.
Some residents wrote letters to the court claiming I must have received the utmost provokation in order to react the way I did - some of the residents I've known for 20 years even though I've only lived on this street for six months.
The court read my two-page statement of mitigation and listened to me tell them that they guy who effectively caused the disturbance I was arrested for, is basically a waste of oxygen.
End result - they gave me a six month conditional discharge, based on my statement, my guilty plea, and the two statements that neighbours had written for me. I also mentioned that all three police statements were 99% identical and objected to them being used as evidence.
Its restored a little faith in the British justice system if nothing else.
Happy days. Time for a minor celebration.
The police came and I was arrested, locked up for the night, then released and fined £80 for being 'drunk and disorderly'.
Was I drunk? Yes. Was I disorderly? Well, I swore repeatedly in the presence of police officers. Apparently thats a 'yes'.
I appealed against the fine. Everybody in the street was outraged that I'd been fined in the first place. I'd only done what others wished they'd had the courage to do.
Some residents wrote letters to the court claiming I must have received the utmost provokation in order to react the way I did - some of the residents I've known for 20 years even though I've only lived on this street for six months.
The court read my two-page statement of mitigation and listened to me tell them that they guy who effectively caused the disturbance I was arrested for, is basically a waste of oxygen.
End result - they gave me a six month conditional discharge, based on my statement, my guilty plea, and the two statements that neighbours had written for me. I also mentioned that all three police statements were 99% identical and objected to them being used as evidence.
Its restored a little faith in the British justice system if nothing else.
Happy days. Time for a minor celebration.
