A
British man who said his "extreme homophobic and racist views" should
make him ineligible for jury duty now faces prosecution over the claim.The Daily Echo reports that the man's
identity is being kept anonymous for now but that Judge Gary Burrell QC read the
leader in open court. In the letter, the man writes:
"I strongly
believe that it would be a serious injustice to the legal system to select me
for jury service.
"I hold extreme
prejudices against homosexuals and black/foreign people and couldn't possibly
be impartial if either appeared in court. Therefore it would not be in the
court's interest to have me a juror."
In addition, the man
said that if he were selected, he also would not pay attention to the case and
would simply vote with the majority.The man had been
selected to serve on a jury in the case of a man on trial for assault and
reckless driving. And while Burrell questioned the authenticity of the man's
claim, he nonetheless dismissed him from jury duty.
Though he escaped jury
duty, the man could soon find himself on trial. The prosecutor and defense
attorneys in the case, barristers Rebecca Austin and Robert Bryan, stepped
outside their traditional role of legal combatants to lodge a joint complaint
against the man.
Under
Britain's
Contempt of Courts Act, he could face prison time or a fine for failing to
serve on jury duty
"The Attorney
General's Office is aware of this case, and we await more information from
Judge Burrell," said a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office.
No comments:
Post a Comment