Missed Court Appearances

[tonytheprof]

I see that Stuart Syvret has been given yet another note by his doctor giving him a medical note for not turning up.

Is there an embargo on the nature of the note? Obviously, it can be deduced that it must be to do with his state of mind - any physical medical condition would surely be mentioned whether a temporary illness (such as a bug) or a more persistent chronic condition.

In the UK, on the grounds of "fitness for trial", this might come under the provisions contained in the Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act 1964 (CP(I)A) concerning the procedure that determine whether a defendant is fit to stand trial.

S4(6) CP(I)A provides that before making a determination, the court must have considered written or oral evidence from at least two registered practitioners, at least one of whom must have been approved by the Secretary of State as having special experience in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorder.

Has the Jersey Court ordered any such independent medical assessment of Mr Syvret? If so, why was it not reported in any of the media coverage?

There may be good grounds for him not being competent, in his present state of mind, to take part in a trial, but it seems we have to infer them rather than being told them.

In law, the criteria for unfitness to plead centre on the single question of a defendant's capacity to take part in the legal proceedings: to be able to understand what is happening to them in court, to be able to offer the essentials of a defence, and to be able to communicate satisfactorily. Obviously a "nervous breakdown" would account for this; the popular non-medical term includes symptoms such as anxiety or depression, usually precipitated by external stressors, and does not have to include paranoia or schizophrenic states of mind.

It is not clear, however, what is happening apart from another court date being set in September, after his current medical note runs out. But if this goes on again, another note, another court date, it can be argued that the court is not really acting professionally; it should be looking at independent examinations, and if these indicate a long-term depression, some decision should be taken as to whether it is in the public interest to continue what appears (as an outsider) to be an elaborate game of legal ping pong.

[Grumpy Old Woman]

I would have thought htat whatever the reason for Stuart's sick note, it is none of yours or the media's business.  It is between Stuart, his lawyer and the court.

[tonytheprof]

Not entirely - if the whole matter is perpetually delayed, it needs to be decided if it is in the public interest to continue.

If the Court is just letting sick notes be given on every occasion, they should decide whether his medical condition is such that a trial is not possible, and drop the case.

To keep on putting it off, and do nothing about deciding this, is not justice, insofar as the maxim "Justice delayed is justice denied". It is not Mr Syvret's fault - the Court needs to decide what to do rather than vacillating, which certainly must be added stress upon him.

[Wayne Rooney]

We should know by now that his illness is not so severe that he is unable to attend a court hearing. Remember he is not being sentenced; he simply is required to attend the Magistrates Court. I think his "Doctor" should and needs to be very careful here because he/she might be inadvertently be  getting involved in the Syvret show.

THE SYVRET SHOW[/center]
The Syvret show is all about his contempt for the system and in this particular case the court and Jersey judicial process and system.

[shaun the sheep]

He's certenly on something,
Last friday night he was bouncing of the walls in "The Royal Yacht"

[moot]

If a general practitional or any other medical doctor issues a sicknote to anyone that person is sick - period !

[GeeGee]

Thank you Moot - you are quite right, and I am sure no GP is going to put his professional reputation on the line, especially over such a high profile case.

Indeed, none of us know exactly what Stuart's illness is, and therefore none of us should be making assumptions as to his mental state either. Depression is classed as a mental illness, but does not mean that the sufferer is 'mad' as some are trying to imply. It never ceases to amaze me that when he lost his seat, all the delighted anti-Syvret brigade took great pleasure in saying there would be no need to give him any more publicity, yet here he is, still hogging the limelight, with it would appear vile comments about Deputy Labey being sent to Rico's blog to boot.

It is clear that at some stage very soon, Stuart will have to appear in Court, so until then we should just be patient and see what transpires then. It is all getting too personal and very boring.

[tonytheprof]

I would totally endorse that depression does not mean (a) the sufferer is somehow mad or (b) what they say can be discounted.

The most notable celebrity to have depression (bipolar disorder) is Stephen Fry, and I'm sure no one would make that argument about him.

[GeeGee]

Likewise Winston Churchill and Spike Milligan are two more that spring to mind that suffered bi-polar.

Did not Winston Churchill call it his 'black dog'? A very misunderstood type of depression and exceedingly difficult for those close to the sufferer to live with.

[Dylan]

I see that Stuart Syvret has been given yet another note by his doctor giving him a medical note for not turning up.

Is there an embargo on the nature of the note? Obviously, it can be deduced that it must be to do with his state of mind - any physical medical condition would surely be mentioned whether a temporary illness (such as a bug) or a more persistent chronic condition.

In the UK, on the grounds of "fitness for trial", this might come under the provisions contained in the Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act 1964 (CP(I)A) concerning the procedure that determine whether a defendant is fit to stand trial.

S4(6) CP(I)A provides that before making a determination, the court must have considered written or oral evidence from at least two registered practitioners, at least one of whom must have been approved by the Secretary of State as having special experience in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorder.

Has the Jersey Court ordered any such independent medical assessment of Mr Syvret? If so, why was it not reported in any of the media coverage?

There may be good grounds for him not being competent, in his present state of mind, to take part in a trial, but it seems we have to infer them rather than being told them.

In law, the criteria for unfitness to plead centre on the single question of a defendant's capacity to take part in the legal proceedings: to be able to understand what is happening to them in court, to be able to offer the essentials of a defence, and to be able to communicate satisfactorily. Obviously a "nervous breakdown" would account for this; the popular non-medical term includes symptoms such as anxiety or depression, usually precipitated by external stressors, and does not have to include paranoia or schizophrenic states of mind.

It is not clear, however, what is happening apart from another court date being set in September, after his current medical note runs out. But if this goes on again, another note, another court date, it can be argued that the court is not really acting professionally; it should be looking at independent examinations, and if these indicate a long-term depression, some decision should be taken as to whether it is in the public interest to continue what appears (as an outsider) to be an elaborate game of legal ping pong.

Not fit enough for court but fit enough for being a states member - says it all dunnit?

[tonytheprof]

He may well have been fit enough to be a States member; reading between the lines, a lot of personal problems came in the aftermath of his failure in the election, which may well have changed matters.

[Dylan]

He may well have been fit enough to be a States member; reading between the lines, a lot of personal problems came in the aftermath of his failure in the election, which may well have changed matters.

eight letters, starts with "B" and rhymes with "OX"

[tonytheprof]

eight letters, starts with "B" and rhymes with "OX"

No, I disagree, "being dumped", can have profoundly upsetting consequences to personal stability and trigger depression, especially if he relied heavily on a "secure home base" to do his research for court cases etc.

if you read this months "Jersey Life", Sean Arnold ("Barney Crozier" in Bergerac) relates how he retrained as a psychotherapist, and how the loss of position (and related prestige) can act as a crisis event, cause major life changing problems, as people "feel bereft and shipwrecked"  and "have lost their focus"

So there is every reason to believe he was fine before the election, but in the aftermath, has not been well enough to attend court.

Just look at how rapidly political leaders who have been knocked out at elections just vanish from view to lick their wounds, and how slowly they come back again (if ever) into the public eye. And that's without a personal crisis at home on top of that.

In contrast, those who retire from the States often re-emerge on voluntary bodies (or even well-remunerated bodies, in the case of Pierre Horsfall or Gerard Voisin at Web on £30,000 p.a. part-time).

[Fritz]

I just wonder if the courts would be as sympathetic to, "Joe Public", producing sick-notes to avoid prosecution for minor offences.

[tonytheprof]

That might well happen, but you're not likely to read about it much in the papers.