Magistrate walks out of court

Although I don't think he handled it correctly i agree with his point.

Surely it must raise identity issues???

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/m...er/6254506.stm

good for him but i shant say much cos this subject is my least tolerable of all.

winds me up no end.

I totally agree with him. Congratulations to him for standing up for what he believes in. It is about time that somebody stood up and said enough is enough. This countries justice system used to be something to be proud of, now it is an absolute laughing stock. It is a victim of it's own sucess and human rights gone mad! I say well done sir may others follow your couragous lead!

Totally agree! There was the case recently where that terrorist escaped this country by dressing in womens clothes which included the same full face cover. I am not pregudice in any way, I work with people from all over the world and of varying faiths, but if everyone wants to be treated the same way, especially in a court of law, then they must realise that the need for true identity is a must to safeguard everyone. Anyone with an ounce of common sense, would surely realise that.

Here we go again. There are sensible, legal and inoffensive way of dealing with these sorts of identity issues.

This what should have happened:

You get a female official in a closed room with the woman and ask her to de-veil. Female official uses photo-ID to check her identity. Job done and everyone is jept happy.

Note that this process does not either let the woman off or subject her to any checks that are applicable to anyone else.

I sincerely hope the magistrate was protesting against the lack of proper procedure that took place before the defendant got ino the courtroom (the report isn't really clear on what his beef was).

In Farnce, the wearing of the Veil is illegal in schools and in public offices such as court rooms. 'Nuff said.

[Biker Biggles]

Depending on whether this defendant was pleading not guilty,or disputing factual issues,it may not just be a case of establishing identity.A court of law is concerned with establishing who is being truthfull,and being able to see someone's face is part of this process.We all form opinions about people's integrity,and facial expression is a significant part of this.
There are clearly some situations where wearing a full facial cover would be inappropriate,and this would seem to be one of them.

Yeah I agree with Biggles, I don't see it as purely an identity question, I think facial expressions are extremely important in trying to apply justice in a court. To be honest, I think if she had been tried with the veil on, it probably wouldn't have done her any favours, and I think it would have been in her own interests to take it off. Imagine as a judge trying to decide if someone did criminal damage and ran off while they are sitting in front of you still covered up? You can't see any signs of remorse, you see a desire to be unrecognisable. Right or not, it paints you in a bad light.

[northwind]

How does it raise identity issues? Like Coolgirl says she could be easily id'd beforehand in private, which is how it's usually dealt with. If it wasn't then that should have been resolved by the normal means, but the article doesn't really suggest that this was the case.

But really, what difference would it make if her face was visible? It's not as thought the magistrate has any part in the processing (ie, IDing), that's all taken care of by others in the court. Even if she'd taken off the veil, why would that make any difference? He doesn't know her from adam anyway, unless he knows everyone that appears in his court personally.

Just to clarify, a magistrate must excuse themselves if the defendant is known to them personally, how can they know unless they see. A name isn't always enough to ensure this.

Another point that has been mentioned is facial expressions etc. Body language can make up to 65% of communication (of which facial expression is a large part), you just can't tell what someone is saying is truthfull or not without seeing these IMHO.