OLD BAILEY SHORTHAND WRITERS ( SHW ) WILL BE MISSED BY BUILDING’S STAFF.

For the record, stenographers put down their pens at the Old Bailey

Paul Cheston

Evening Standard online

23 March 2012

An era will end at the Old Bailey when the official record of a trial is taken by hand for the last time.

Stenographers — and before them shorthand writers — have been recording courtroom exchanges for centuries. When Charles Dickens was a court reporter at the Old Bailey, the pen-and-quill logger was a familiar figure.

But from Monday, the 17 regulars at the Central Criminal Court, who take down 180 to 220 words per minute, will be replaced by audio recordings as part of £5 million cuts at crown courts across the country.

A courts service spokesman said the new system would be faster, more efficient and provide “improved business procedures”. But stenographers, who are paid less than £100 a day before deductions with no sick pay, holidays or pension, and have to pay up to £4,000 for their own machines, believe they provide the best service.

Elizabeth Mowbray, a stenographer at the Old Bailey for 11 years, said the human element was irreplaceable: “An audio recording still has to be transcribed. But can a machine recognise the different voices, say, in a trial of six defendants, each with their own counsel, and the prosecution and the witness and the judge, unless each person is introduced before speaking?

“Court proceedings are only as good as the court record. We are sometimes required to lip read when a witness is mumbling, and even understand patois.” Ms Mowbray had to act as a French interpreter this year after the official translator failed to turn up. “I saved time and money,” she said. “I don’t think we’ve been taken seriously. I love my job. It is profoundly sad.”

Last night judges, led by the Recorder of London, Peter Beaumont QC, hosted a party for the stenographers. But they have been asked to attend the Old Bailey next week in case the new system breaks down. The High Court still uses stenographers for some cases.

BED IN OLD BAILEY COURT

HOSPITAL BED BROUGHT TO COURT SO SICK MAN CAN FACE MURDER TRIAL

Paul Cheston

Evening Stanard online

19th march , 2012.

 

A double murder suspect has faced trial from his hospital bed, installed in the centre of an Old Bailey courtroom especially for the purpose.

In what is believed to be the first time such arrangements have been made, Sergei Zolotovsky was brought to court in an ambulance and wheeled into the room on a trolley before being lifted into the hospital bed, which was put in place on Friday.
The bed was positioned in front of the dock, facing the judge and barristers and only feet away from the jury box. The court was cleared as Zolotovsky was moved from the trolley to the bed.
Judge Stephen Kramer QC was due to tell the jury about the circumstances before the trial, expected to begin today.
Latvian plumber Zolotovsky, 44, is accused of killing his estranged wife and his mother-in-law in August last year. He is alleged to have stabbed 40-year-old Svetlana at a bus stop in Beckton before going back to the family home and killing Antonia Belska.
Ms Belska’s body was discovered by firefighters called to the semi-detached house when neighbours spotted flames.
Zolotovsky is said to have been found by police in the loft at the house, having apparently tried to cut his own throat.
He underwent emergency surgery and recovered but then suffered further injuries which led to him becoming bedridden.
Zolotovsky, of Edmonton Green, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of murder.
He lay propped up in the bed today, fully clothed and wearing black with a white shirt, his arms folded across his chest. Asked to confirm his name by the court clerk, he replied: “Yes.”
Svetlana Zolotovsky worked as a pharmacy technician in the private Wellington Hospital in St John’s Wood.
Preparations for the historic case began when cleaners were brought in last week to make the 50-year-old courtroom as hygienic as possible.
Court 16 was chosen as the biggest and most accessible courtroom in the more modern half of the Old Bailey building.
The trial of three men accused of shooting five-year-old Thusha Kamaleswaran, who was left paralysed as the innocent victim of alleged gang warfare in Stockwell in March last year, was moved next door to accommodate the Zolotovsky case.
The ambulance bringing Zolotovsky to court arrived at the judge’s entrance in Warwick Square, which is located away from the public entrance to the courts complex.
The case continues.

A MEMORABLE EXCHANGE BETWEEN COUNSEL AND WITNESS.....

FROM AN OLD BAILEY TRIAL……..

COUNSEL . Q : When you were sitting outside Kerry’s mother’s house , what were you thinking about ?

WITNESS “W” . A : Thinking about ?

Q : Yes.

A : Kerry

Q : Fondly ?

A : Pardon ?

Q : Fondly.

A : Are you taking the piss ?

Q : No , I am not. Mr. W***** , I am asking you a question and I expect the courtesy of an answer.

A : What do you mean , fondling ?

Q : Fondly.

A : Exactly . Elaborate on it . What do you mean ?

Q : Affectionately.

A : Playing with myself in the car ?

Q : Mr. W****** , please !!

A : what do you mean , fondling ?

Q : I am sorry ,…..FOND-LY !!

A : I thought you said fondling mate.

Q : There we are.

( MUCH LAUGHTER AND THE JUDGE EVEN BREAKS OUT INTO A SMILE )

OLD BAILEY SECURITY OFFICER JAILED FOR THEFT

Old Bailey security guard jailed for robbing lawyers

By MIKE SULLIVAN

Published: 16 Jun 2011
THE SUN

AN Old Bailey security guard was jailed for stealing phones, cash and WIGS from lawyers.

Police launched an undercover operation after QCs reported a series of thefts from their private robing room — one of the few areas of the famous court not covered by CCTV.
Hidden cameras were installed and Ifamuyiwa Callisto was caught sneaking in during court sessions and rifling through lawyers' lockers and jackets — 30 minutes after he called in sick.
He also took a wallet that had been deliberately planted by cops and stuffed with dummy cash.
Dad-of-three Callisto, 52, was arrested moments later.
Police caught him with the photocopied banknotes and another wallet belonging to a leading lawyer.
A search of the guard's home in Tower Hamlets, East London, uncovered £1,900 of designer pens belonging to another leading QC.
Nigerian Callisto, an ex-nurse who worked on the front desk monitoring staff and visitors at the Old Bailey, told cops: "It was easy pickings."
Callisto, who admitted three theft charges, was jailed for six months by Westminster Magistrates' Court.

ILLEGAL WORKER IN OLD BAILEY

******Illegal rumbled at Old Bailey*****

 

By SIMON HUGHES

Published: 09 Sep 2006( The Sun online)

COPS swooped to arrest a crooked illegal immigrant after discovering him working at the Old Bailey as a security guard.
Nigerian Layi Bamidele, 56 previously booted out of Britain TWICE was given the job by bungling officials despite having a criminal record.
Detectives seized him at Britain’s most famous court home to major terrorist trials following a tip-off he had used a false name.
Last night a huge investigation was launched into the security scandal after it was revealed Bamidele had been working there for 2½ years.
An Old Bailey insider said: “Bearing in mind what goes on here, it’s terrifying. He could have let virtually anyone in.”
Anti-terror expert Chris Dobson said: “If a terrorist had exploited a woeful shortcoming of this kind, the results don’t bear thinking about. It’s hard to imagine a more high-profile target apparently so accessible.

PERVERT STOLE CHILD PORN PHOTOS

*****Perv stole child porn evidence******By SIMON HUGHES ( The Sun )
Published: 06 Oct 2007

A PERVERT who worked at the Old Bailey stole child porn photos used in a trial.
Barry Dryer, 57, – known to colleagues as Dirty Barry – snatched the 54 images as he moved evidence files.
He also took pictures of a woman murder victim.
The admin assistant was later sacked for looking at porn websites while working at London’s Central Criminal Court.
The thefts were uncovered when a woman was awarded his East London flat as compensation in a civil court case.
She called cops after finding the sick pictures.
Prosecutor Kate Ryle told Snaresbrook Crown Court: “The woman alleged he abused her throughout childhood.”
She added: “The photos stolen were of an adult lady who had been murdered and a booklet of photographs of children.”
Dryer admitted theft and child porn charges.
But he was spared jail after his lawyer pleaded he was unwell.
The court sentenced him to three years’ supervision.
Last night charity Kidscape blasted the “lenient” sentence.