Court reporting (2008)

Law Report

On Wednesday 22nd of October at 10:30am Winchester Crown Court heard a case involving a man charged with manslaughter, the case was ongoing from a previous date this is how the case unfolded.

Firstly before the jury arrived the Barrister for the prosecution put forth the idea of using CCTV footage as evidence in the case. The Barrister for the defence did not refute and the judge felt it was necessary for the case. The judge then made it clear to the jury that the fact that the first witness has decided to remain anonymous should have no reflection on him and should not change the authenticity of his evidence.

The first witness, David Imborg, approached the stand behind a curtain to protect his identity and swore on an oath that his evidence was truthful. The prosecution started the questioning, the barrister asked if he lived in a house in Bournemouth to which the witness replied ‘yes’. Then he was asked if on the 23rd of February he went to the Dolphin Pub to which he also replied ‘yes’. The witness then went on to say he went to the pub at 10:00pm that night with his friend Michael and another friend, and went to meet Michael’s friend Liza. After the formalities’ where out of the way the witness went on to describe what went on that night. He began with saying how Michael suffered racial abuse when entering the pub which led to them drinking outside in the smoking area. The witness was asked how much he had had to drink that night to which his reply was ‘two vodka oranges’. The usher then handed the witness photos of the aforementioned smoking area in the Dolphin pub. The Barrister then asked exactly where the witness was situated in the photos. The witness then went on to recall hearing the bell ringing in the pub for last orders at roughly 11:50pm. He goes on to describe seeing three people sitting at a table; a man one side, a lady opposite and a third man who he believed to be standing. The witness said he then heard an argument at which point the woman at the table threw the contents of her pint over the victim, and then flick a cigarette at him. The glass, now empty from the contents being thrown, fell and smashed and the victim looked at his hands as if checking for blood. The witness described the woman as being roughly 5ft 3 to 5ft 5 inches in height. The witness then said that he did not pay attention to the incident after it had happened and carried on. Later the witness says that the woman and third man who had been around the table walked off towards the car park, the witness described the man who had been shouted at by the woman as a bit off balance as he had had possibly too much to drink. The witness went on to describe how he heard an argument between the people in the car park to which he can remember hearing ‘ I’ll see you in Mr Green tonight’ being said by the woman to the victim. The witness said the woman was facing the victim whilst saying this and standing next to the other man and her body language, in his words, was very ‘dynamic’. He then went on to say that the man standing with the women threw a punch at the victim. The witness described the punch as a ‘prepared action’, he said that the man took his arm back and got ready to deliver, what he described as, a ‘knockout punch’. The witness was then prompted to show the punch and he complied. The defence barrister then asked for the prosecution barrister to repeat and he did so. The witness then said the punch hit the victims face who was standing upright with his arms by his side, which he was again prompted to show the action which he complied and did again. The victim was described as hitting the floor ‘like a weight’ after receiving the punch. He went on to say that he could hear the impact of the body hitting the ground and that the victim did not put his hands out to break his fall. The witness then saw the alleged attacker run from the car park, at which point the witness and his friend went to his assistance who he described as not conscious.

Defence Barrister cross examines the witness:
The defence Barrister firstly asked the witness to look at the photos of where they were sitting on that night. The barrister said how it sounded like a ‘friendly atmosphere’ at the pub to which the witness agreed. The Witness was then given his own statement he made in March. The Barrister asked if the victim had anything in his hands, and was then asked to look through his statement which implied that the victim may of had something in his hands when approaching the woman and defendant. The barrister asked David where Jason ( the victims) hands were. The witness said at least one arm was by his side. The jury then put a question forward asking if Jason had picked up the glass or anything from the table, to which he witness replied he could have picked something up.

A second witness then approached the bench, without the screen. The Witness goes by the name of Liza, she too swore on the oath before sitting down.

Prosecution:
The witness said she went to the pub to meet Michael, she was handed photos of the hut and showed where she sat at the back. Liza said she knew the victim Jason but referred to him as Tony. Liza was then handed her statement from the night. Her account of the nights incident started with two women sitting on the same table as Jason and a blonde woman saying ‘you’ve been giving me funny looks all night’ to which Jason replied ‘ no I haven’t’. Liza said the women were with two men. The witness said that one man said to the blonde lady ‘come away we’ll deal with it later’. Liza said that as the argument continued and the glass smashed ‘Emma’, a barmaid working that night, told them all to go home. The two women and men left and were followed into the car park by Jason. The blonde lady then shouted at Jason as she stood behind one of the gentlemen. Then the gentlemen pretended to box Jason and then hit him with his right fist, which knocked Jason to the ground. Liza said the man paused briefly then ran away as did the other people with him, at which point Emma and Liza went to his aid. Liza was questioned on whether there was any glass around Jason but she could not see any.


Defence Cross Examination:
The defence questioned Liza on what area of Jason she was concentrating to which she replied the head. The barrister questioned whether it was possible for her to notice any glass as she was trying to keep the head wound from getting any worse. The Barrister was suggesting that Liza did not have the best view of the incident and that maybe the defendant approached the blonde lady berating Jason and asked her to leave and calm down. In her statement she had previously told the P.C. on the scene that she could not give a detailed account of what had happened and instead rung her friend Michael who spoke to the officer over the phone, and Liza could only give a description of the man. In Liza’s statement she had said the man who threw the punch was between 30-40 years old, 5ft 11” – 6ft in height, had a ring on his middle finger, had in Liza’s own words; ‘a skinhead’ and a black jacket. The Barrister said that his client did not have a black jacket on that night, nor did he have a ring, and was implying that Liza’s evidence may not be 100 per cent reliable.

The CCTV footage of that night was watched by the landlord of the Dolphin Pub on Sunday morning and was then given to the Police. The DVD was then played to the jury.