Defendant interprets for co-defendant as ALS fails
I was told this story by a solicitor who was present in the court room at Ipswich Magistrates' Court at the time. This is about a recent case of 2 Lithuanian co-defendants who were produced in court after an overnight remand for being involved in a serious and well-planned shoplifting operation.
One of the co-defendants committed this new offence while on bail for a previous offence. The case was heard before a district judge who is known for being very keen to resolve cases quickly and who hates adjournments. The duty solicitor (who was young and inexperienced) said she was unable to take instructions from the defendants without an interpreter. However, the judge insisted on hearing the case anyway and, as one of the defendants could speak some English, the judge asked him to interpret for his co-defendant, which he did as told...
God knows what he said while he tried to interpret, but at the end both pleaded guilty and were remanded in custody, although one of them (who was not on bail for a previous offence) could have been bailed.
The solicitor who told me this was appalled with the way the judge dealt with the case instead of adjourning it for lack of an interpreter. The poor duty solicitor did nothing as she wasn't sure what to do...
