Daniel sat in his office waiting for Evangeline Urbane to arrive. She said she was in her hotel room, she would have a shower and then walk to his Chambers. He wondered if she had fallen asleep. Her visit to Brisbane was fleeting and primarily business focussed, but it did not mean they could not see each other. She had worked hard. Perhaps she had laid down on the bed and fallen asleep. Daniel sent Evangeline a couple of text messages, without reply. He rang her telephone and only got voice mail. The sleep option appeared to be a compelling conclusion.
When a knock came on his Chambers door all those thoughts were abandoned. Standing in his doorway was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, Evangeline Urbane. Time stood still and not for the first time with them.
He said “Hello”.
Evangeline might have said hello in reply, but Daniel could not remember. She seemed to be shaking. He hugged her and walked into his Chambers. He told her it was good to see her and little more was said for the next few minutes. He simply held her until her shaking dissipated.
As she regained a little more of her composure, he took her bag and put it on his desk. Daniel continued to hold Evangeline and the only thing she had in her hands was him. After a little more of that embrace he released her and proceeded to kneel down in front of her. Daniel took her modest but still reasonably short skirt and began to raise it. She did not complain. He raised the skirt until her panties were well visible and he began to kiss them. Not a word was said by Evangeline and she was clearly enjoying what Daniel was doing. He began to fondle her buttocks, but this in no way distracted him from the kissing attention he was giving her. After about three (3) or four (4) minutes he lowered her panties. He was now fondling her bare buttocks and happily kissing her naked beauty.
A minute passed, then two, then three, then four. His attention to Evangeline was unrelenting. Daniel could tell he was having an effect on her because her knees started to buckle. She was having trouble standing.
A lull in the proceedings occurred when he stopped seemingly to breathe. Evangeline was able to regain her composure a little and she then suggested that they adjourn to her hotel room. Daniel said that was a good idea and the next few minutes were spent recovering their equilibrium so they could make it to her hotel room.
Relocation
About ten (10) minutes later they were in her hotel room and Daniel again lifted her skirt and started kissing Evangeline. Happily she was now standing at the end of the bed, so there was some support for her knees, as they could no longer stand the attention she was getting. Before long her panties were again removed and her naked beauty was being enjoyed completely.
Daniel also removed her skirt and placed Evangeline gently on the bed. It was time for her navel to enjoy some attention. Whilst doing so he undid the buttons on her blouse. He kissed her all around her navel area and also managed to assist her taking off her top. As the top hit the floor his left hand undid the snap on her bra in one motion. The bra then joined the blouse on the floor.
Her breasts were now exposed and Daniel moved his attention to them. He kissed the breasts and in particular the nipples gently. As her body enjoyed more attention Daniel continued to kiss her nipples and they became erect.
After spending some time on her breasts Daniel returned to the navel of Evangeline. He also started stroking her legs. Her expressions of pleasure became more frequent. As he again started kissing where her panties had been Evangeline let out rather loud yell and grabbed his head in both hands, placing it precisely where she wanted. Apparently he was not finished. With some delight Daniel acceded to her request. He then placed his hands on her bare bottom and continue paying her close personal attention.
Evangeline then started gripping his head more tightly and pulling him closer to her. Shortly thereafter she grabbed his head and moved it away from her. She then rolled over on to her side and then her stomach. She appeared exhausted
Daniel then started to gently stroke her bare bottom. Before long he was kissing her bottom. Evangeline then gently stroked his head. She turned around, looked over her shoulder and said to him “Are we doing this again? Good.”
As Daniel continued to kiss her bottom, Evangeline was torn between staying where she was and enjoying the attention and looking over her shoulder and watching Daniel pay her attention. It was a tough decision for her. She decided to stay on her stomach and enjoy the attention.
Evangeline thought, this is having the desired effect, my arousal is increasing. After a couple of minutes Evangeline gently indicated to Daniel to stop kissing her bare bottom. She moved Daniel so that they were facing each other and she started kissing him. She pulled Daniel close to her and he could feel her erect nipples pressed against his chest.
Not content with just kissing Daniel, Evangeline started grinding her crotch with Daniel. She could feel his arousal increasing and it was making her more aroused. Evangeline continued to kiss and grind Daniel. She liked that Daniel was allowing her to control the proceedings and enjoy the experience.
After about five (5) minutes Evangeline could feel she was wet. She stopped kissing Daniel and whispered in his ear, “I want you inside me”.
Daniel then watched Evangeline release him from her clutch and position herself on the bed.
As Daniel began to enter Evangeline he could see the smile on her face increase. Evangeline then grabbed Daniel and made the penetration deeper. She was gripping Daniel tightly and he could see her arousal was increasing. Daniel could both see and feel the erect nipples of Evangeline as she was guiding their interaction. Evangeline then grabbed Daniel and pulled him towards her. She held him tight. He knew this was not the time to move. Her grip remained tight and goose bumps covered her body.
The goose bumps remained as Evangeline loosened her grip on Daniel. She was happy.
Evangeline then said, “I suppose we should go to dinner. Then we can come back here and do this again.”
Daniel replied, “I am happy with those arrangements.”
Dinner
Over dinner they discussed what they might do the following day.
Daniel: “Seeing as you do not have to work tomorrow and your flight home is not until late in the afternoon, we could go to the Gallery of Modern Art or GOMA, as it is often called, after you check out of the hotel. You have said previously it was something you wanted to do. We seem to have time to do it tomorrow."
Evangeline was a little surprised by the suggestion and pleasantly so. She thought about it and said, “Yes, I would like that.”
When dinner was completed they returned to the hotel room of Evangeline and their personal interaction was pleasantly inspired by the GOMA visit suggestion.
Evangeline said to Daniel, “I want to be on top. Just lay down and let me take care of things.”
Daniel said with a smile, “It works for me.”
Almost immediately Evangeline had put Daniel inside her and was grinding with pleasure. Her erect nipples were a giveaway; she was enjoying herself. Daniel could feel his enjoyment rising too. Much faster than he had anticipated. He tried to delay the moment and was successful for a short while. But Evangeline was compelling and she completed his arousal soon after.
Daniel was far from spent, he wanted more of Evangeline and she knew it. They knew they had the rest of the evening to themselves and no work commitments in the morning. They delighted in the company of each other for some considerable time before sleep demands ended proceedings.
Daniel thought even sleeping with Evangeline was wonderful. He could wrap himself around her and they could fall asleep together. Evangeline knew it and she encouraged it.
Breakfast
Waking up beside Evangeline was an exquisite experience, Daniel thought, as he slowly roused from a very sound and refreshing sleep. He was just about to put his arms around her and cuddle her, when she also awoke. Evangeline pushed aside her long brunette hair from her face and kissed Daniel. She interrupted the kiss to say “Good morning” with a big smile on her face and then she resumed kissing him.
Daniel revelled in the touch of her gorgeous naked body and her could feel her nipples were again erect. Evangeline was clearly happy and her kisses progressed to other parts of his body. When Evangeline was clearly in no position to speak Daniel realised they would not be thinking about breakfast for some time.
Evangeline said to Daniel, “I think you are ready, time to spoon me.”
Almost immediately Daniel was inside Evangeline and also caressing her breasts.
Daniel said, “Do you know what your name is?”
Evangeline said, looking over her shoulder: “Yes”
Daniel: “Do you know where you are?”
Evangeline: “Yes. Hopefully in a few minutes the answer to those questions will be ‘I am not sure’. It has happened before with you and I loved it.”
Their interaction then got more rigorous and conversation was not necessary.
Evangeline gripped Daniel as goose bumps covered her naked body.
“Do not stop”, she said and Daniel acceded to her request.
Evangeline let out a gasp and released her grip on Daniel. She was very happy.
Evangeline then said to Daniel with a smile, “I want you to finish too.”
Daniel replied, “Turn on to your stomach.”
Before Evangeline finished saying “You know that is my favourite” Daniel had entered her.
He whispered into her ear, “You are exceptional”.
Evangeline could feel Daniel getting harder inside her and her arousal was increasing too. She knew the moment was close for Daniel and then she felt him explode inside her. Almost immediately it triggered a similar reaction in her.
They then embraced for several minutes before Evangeline said, “Have a shower with me and then we can go to breakfast”.
Daniel replied, “With pleasure.”
When they finally made it to breakfast, they discussed the logistics of the visit to GOMA.
GOMA
After their GOMA visit Evangeline had to go to the airport to catch her plane home. Shortly before they left GOMA Daniel said to Evangeline that they still had some time before Evangeline had to leave. He suggested they both detour to his house on the way to the airport. Evangeline agreed.
They barely got in the door at Daniel’s house before afternoon delight commenced. When they finally made it to his bed, a naked Evangeline said, “Seeing as we are here, we might as well do my favourite.”
Daniel: “Very happy to oblige.”
Evangeline then lay on her stomach and said to Daniel, “I want to look over my shoulder and watch you enter me. Which is precisely what is happening.”
Their interaction then became intense.
Daniel: “I never expected to be doing this here.”
Evangeline: “Neither did I.”
Conversation was not a primary consideration for Evangeline by that stage.
Goose bumps returned to Evangeline.
After a little while Daniel said to Evangeline, “Do you know your name?”
Evangeline: “Barely and I have no idea where I am.”
Evangeline continued: “This has been a very enjoyable afternoon. In fact it has been a very enjoyable visit.”
Daniel: “Sadly your taxi will be here shortly and this visit will have to end.”
Taxi
When the taxi arrived to take Evangeline to the airport she was ready. After she put her luggage in the boot of the taxi Evangeline gave Daniel a very passionate and public kiss goodbye. She was delighted that his interest in her grew as she did so. It was another pleasant feeling and memory as she drove off in the taxi.
Showing posts with label Daniel Soames. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daniel Soames. Show all posts
Friday, 15 January 2016
Thursday, 7 May 2015
When Selfish Is The Primary Focus
Daniel Soames answered the telephone. It was his instructing solicitor Toussaint Wilberforce.
“We have a family law case in Sydney in two (2) days, Mr Soames. I thought I would ring you and confirm that all appears to be in order here. How are things with you?”
“All appears to be in order here as well, Mr Wilberforce”, Soames replied.
Wilberforce: “You will recall, Mr Soames, the mother was living with the father in the Central Coast area of New South Wales. They had two (2) children in their relationship. The mother left the marriage and the Central Coast with the two (2) children to live in Wollongong with her then boyfriend. The four (4) of them then moved to Queensland to live. That relationship did not last and the mother subsequently moved to Rockhampton with her current partner and his two (2) children. The children of the marriage are now settled in Rockhampton, attending school and doing well.”
Soames: “Yes, Mr Wilberforce, I recall.”
Wilberforce: “The Independent Children’s Lawyer agrees with the recommendation of the Family Report writer that the children should remain living with the mother in Central Queensland. The Family Report writer concluded that the children had finally achieved a degree of stability in their lives, although it was limited to that point. Accordingly on the available evidence staying in that environment would be the preferred option for the well-being of the children.”
Soames: “That is a handy position in which to be, Mr Wilberforce. But the attitude of the Judge is the most important factor and that remains unknown at this juncture.”
Wilberforce: “Quite so, Mr Soames, and I sense that our welcoming may not be all that warm in the Court in Sydney.”
Soames: “I share your assessment and concern.”
Wilberforce: “I will see you at the airport tomorrow.”
Soames: “Yes, Mr Wilberforce, tomorrow, at the airport.”
The telephone conversation then ended.
The Airport
When Daniel attended the airport he proceeded through airline security as is normally the case. Quite unexpectedly on this occasion he encountered his friend Conchita. She now worked for airline security and after initial salutations, she spent about ten (10) minutes regaling him with stories of people travelling who are seemingly cheating on their partners. Several of them were people she knew in one form or another.
Their respective work demands meant they could not continue their discussion and so it ended. Daniel proceeded through the remainder of airline security and then went off to meet his instructing solicitor and travelling companion, Toussaint Wilberforce.
Soames shared the news of meeting Conchita with Wilberforce
“What a handy resource she may prove to be in the future”, Wilberforce said.
Soames replied, “Not everything is about work, Wilberforce. However I agree him that Conchita may prove to be a useful source of information in the future.”
That discussion filled part of the time whilst they waited until they could board their plane. The rest of the time did not involve any significant discussion of their case, due to the public nature of their location.
On The Plane
Once on the plane Soames and Wilberforce were seated together and next to Wilberforce was a man who was very keen to chat. Once he found out Wilberforce was a solicitor who practiced in family law, his travel companion was very keen to tell his story of a woman he knew who was on a music podcast. According to the travel companion if you listened to that particular music podcast, the woman co-host progressively revealed her divorce and effectively bragged about her affair with her two co-hosts.
During the telling of the story Soames said to Wilberforce, “Work rarely seems to stop for you”.
Wilberforce replied, “The information and knowledge gained can be useful in the future, Soames.”
Soames: “Point taken” and they smiled broadly at each other.
When the travel companion finished his story, there was little other conversation between him, Wilberforce and Soames.
Soames and Wilberforce spent the remainder of the flight discussing minor matters. It was a pleasant and otherwise uneventful flight.
When Soames and Wilberforce landed in Sydney they went straight to their hotel, checked in and proceeded to their respective hotel rooms. Once settled in his room, Soames commenced preparation for the trial the next day.
The Trial - Day 1
At the end of the first day of the trial, Soames reflected upon its progress. All things considered, the evidence proceeded as he thought it would and no one took an unsurprising approach. The Judge was somewhat more angry at his client, the mother, than he had anticipated, but not so much as to need to fundamentally revise their approach to the trial.
Soames and Wilberforce briefly returned to their respective hotel rooms after the day in Court and then met again for dinner that evening. During dinner, Soames and Wilberforce discussed the case and how the trial was progressing.
Soames: “Mr Wilberforce, I have considerable disquiet about the behaviour of the mother. Rewarding it by allowing the children to remain living with her seems an uncomfortable, perhaps even unsavoury, result. There were many valid criticisms of the father which were canvassed today during the trial and they counted against the children living with him. However I am not sure the new man in the life of the mother is a significant improvement. He seems to be the same type of man as the father we have been criticising, only nicer.”
Wilberforce: “Nicer, for now, Soames. I expect he will become like the father in time to come.”
Soames: “That is hardly a comforting prospect for the children in this mess.”
Wilberforce: “Indeed Soames, but it is the way these cases invariably unfold.”
Soames: “In fact the more I see of him, the more I tend to not like the new male partner of our client. Happily there has been no need for him to give evidence in these proceedings.”
Wilberforce: “He has also failed to ingratiate himself with me and I have spent considerably more time with him than you have done.”
Soames: “Some of the bad behaviour of the mother seems to have been stemmed since meeting this chap. She has remained living in Rockhampton and the children are now settled in Rockhampton, attending school and doing well. Perhaps he has some redeeming features.”
Wilberforce: “If the new man is responsible for that apparent stability, perhaps he does have some redeeming features.”
The dinner continued in an otherwise uneventful fashion and after about an hour both men then retired to their respective hotel rooms.
The Trial - Day 2
With all the evidence having been completed during day one (1) of the trial, all that remained on day two (2) were final submissions.
In addressing Soames during his final submissions on behalf of the mother, the Judge said, “It was common ground int the trial that the mother had facilitated very little contact between the father and children since they left the Central Coast of New South Wales. That was something to which the father referred often when presenting his case and it was something about which I often criticised the mother.”
“There was significant criticism of the mother that she was not child-focussed in her behaviour and had not been child-focussed for some time. That criticism came from the father, the Family Report writer, the Independent Children’s Lawyer and me.”
“That criticism supported a return of the children to live with the father on the NSW Central Coast. However it was tempered by the fact that the children had finally achieved some stability in their lives and disrupting that stability to return to the Central Coast would be detrimental to the development of the children. That is a matter of some significance for the case of the mother.”
“Again, the father, the Family Report writer, the Independent Children’s Lawyer and I were all very critical of the mother, that she had organised her life to suit herself and not the children. That meant there was a significant element of rewarding the very bad behaviour of the mother in allowing the children to continue living with her in Central Queensland.”
“You can hardly argue with those criticisms, Mr Soames. I believe I have made it abundantly clear during this trial how unhappy I am about the behaviour of you client, the mother, in this case.”
Soames: “No, Your Honour, I do not propose to argue with the criticisms you have raised and you have made your displeasure with the behaviour of the mother abundantly clear. Notwithstanding all the criticisms of the mother and her behaviour, as Your Honour pointed out earlier, the children have finally achieved some stability in their lives and disrupting that stability to return to the Central Coast would be detrimental to their development. Accordingly in our submission, Your Honour would grant the orders sought by the mother and permit the children to continue living in their present circumstances.”
The Judge retired for approximately two (2) hours to consider her decision.
Opportunity Knocks
As they were waiting for the Judge to make her decision in the trial, Soames and Wilberforce decided to go to a café to get something to eat and drink.
On their way to a café across the road from the Court, Wilberforce grabbed Soames by the arm and spoke quietly in his ear,
“Soames, you know how you told me work never ends for me, well something about which I know a little is occurring right in front of us. The woman in a passionate embrace with the man is known to me. She is from Melbourne and that man she is kissing is not her husband. He is a Sydney local and is known to me too.”
Soames could clearly see the wedding ring of the woman involved in the kiss.
By this stage Wiberforce had used his mobile telephone to take two (2) or three (3) photographs of the embracing couple. Wilberforce maintained his concentration on the couple and noticed they were walking into a nearby hotel. He took more photographs of them entering the hotel and he followed them. Soames followed Wilberforce, without saying a word. When the embracing couple got into the hotel elevator together Wilberforce took his last photograph of them.
It appeared to Soames that the couple were oblivious to the presence of Wilberforce.
Soames and Wilberforce then went to a café and during their meal, Wilberforce told Soames the story of the embracing couple.
Wilberforce: “Some months ago I was retained to assist in a divorce and do a little investigation and advice work for the husband of the woman we saw in the embrace. She travelled quite a bit for work and the husband suspected she was having an affair. I was supplied with some information, including photographs of the wife. It turns out a Sydney solicitor I know also knows the Sydney man involved and he was quite happy to tell me about him. I was told the Sydney man was a giant rat, who likes to promote himself and make fun of other people. He has no loyalty whatsoever.”
“This will be unexpected information for my Melbourne solicitor colleague. I propose to provide it to him as a professional courtesy. I expect he will tell me the wife was in Sydney “on business” or ”working”. The circumstances of the working or business I have seen and photographed may be different to that told to the husband by the wife.”
Soames: “That is very decent of you, Wilberforce. And very alert as well. Experience tells me those are the moments one does not want to miss when it comes to evidence collation.”
Wilberforce: “I thought it warranted an immediate response. I am grateful for your cooperation.”
Soames: “No trouble, Mr Wilberforce. It has added a little more excitement and diversity to our day and our Sydney visit.”
Wilberforce the rang his Melbourne solicitor colleague and told him what had just occurred. The Melbourne solicitor said he made significant notes of the conversation. Wilberforce said he would write to him about it and send the photographs to him when Wilberforce returned to Brisbane.
At the end of the telephone call Soames and Wilberforce discussed the passionate embrace couple a little more and then turned their attention back to their trial.
About twenty-five (25) minutes later the associate to the Judge rang them to tell them she was returning to deliver her judgment. Soames and Wilberforce immediately returned to the Court.
The Decision
Upon her return the Judge gave her decision immediately.
Court ended quickly after the decision was given. Everyone packed up their material and left the Court room promptly. Soames and Wilberforce went to an interview room nearby and had a short conference with the client and her new partner. They were still holding hands at every opportunity, to the significant annoyance of Soames.
After a brief explanation of the judgment to the client and her new partner, which they both seemed to understand, they announced they had to leave to catch the flight home they had booked. They then thanked both Soames and Wilberforce and left for the airport.
Soames and Wilberforce once again attended the café where they ate during the Judge considering her decision. On this occasion it was an entirely uneventful visit.
From there they caught a taxi to the airport for an uneventful flight home.
“We have a family law case in Sydney in two (2) days, Mr Soames. I thought I would ring you and confirm that all appears to be in order here. How are things with you?”
“All appears to be in order here as well, Mr Wilberforce”, Soames replied.
Wilberforce: “You will recall, Mr Soames, the mother was living with the father in the Central Coast area of New South Wales. They had two (2) children in their relationship. The mother left the marriage and the Central Coast with the two (2) children to live in Wollongong with her then boyfriend. The four (4) of them then moved to Queensland to live. That relationship did not last and the mother subsequently moved to Rockhampton with her current partner and his two (2) children. The children of the marriage are now settled in Rockhampton, attending school and doing well.”
Soames: “Yes, Mr Wilberforce, I recall.”
Wilberforce: “The Independent Children’s Lawyer agrees with the recommendation of the Family Report writer that the children should remain living with the mother in Central Queensland. The Family Report writer concluded that the children had finally achieved a degree of stability in their lives, although it was limited to that point. Accordingly on the available evidence staying in that environment would be the preferred option for the well-being of the children.”
Soames: “That is a handy position in which to be, Mr Wilberforce. But the attitude of the Judge is the most important factor and that remains unknown at this juncture.”
Wilberforce: “Quite so, Mr Soames, and I sense that our welcoming may not be all that warm in the Court in Sydney.”
Soames: “I share your assessment and concern.”
Wilberforce: “I will see you at the airport tomorrow.”
Soames: “Yes, Mr Wilberforce, tomorrow, at the airport.”
The telephone conversation then ended.
The Airport
When Daniel attended the airport he proceeded through airline security as is normally the case. Quite unexpectedly on this occasion he encountered his friend Conchita. She now worked for airline security and after initial salutations, she spent about ten (10) minutes regaling him with stories of people travelling who are seemingly cheating on their partners. Several of them were people she knew in one form or another.
Their respective work demands meant they could not continue their discussion and so it ended. Daniel proceeded through the remainder of airline security and then went off to meet his instructing solicitor and travelling companion, Toussaint Wilberforce.
Soames shared the news of meeting Conchita with Wilberforce
“What a handy resource she may prove to be in the future”, Wilberforce said.
Soames replied, “Not everything is about work, Wilberforce. However I agree him that Conchita may prove to be a useful source of information in the future.”
That discussion filled part of the time whilst they waited until they could board their plane. The rest of the time did not involve any significant discussion of their case, due to the public nature of their location.
On The Plane
Once on the plane Soames and Wilberforce were seated together and next to Wilberforce was a man who was very keen to chat. Once he found out Wilberforce was a solicitor who practiced in family law, his travel companion was very keen to tell his story of a woman he knew who was on a music podcast. According to the travel companion if you listened to that particular music podcast, the woman co-host progressively revealed her divorce and effectively bragged about her affair with her two co-hosts.
During the telling of the story Soames said to Wilberforce, “Work rarely seems to stop for you”.
Wilberforce replied, “The information and knowledge gained can be useful in the future, Soames.”
Soames: “Point taken” and they smiled broadly at each other.
When the travel companion finished his story, there was little other conversation between him, Wilberforce and Soames.
Soames and Wilberforce spent the remainder of the flight discussing minor matters. It was a pleasant and otherwise uneventful flight.
When Soames and Wilberforce landed in Sydney they went straight to their hotel, checked in and proceeded to their respective hotel rooms. Once settled in his room, Soames commenced preparation for the trial the next day.
The Trial - Day 1
At the end of the first day of the trial, Soames reflected upon its progress. All things considered, the evidence proceeded as he thought it would and no one took an unsurprising approach. The Judge was somewhat more angry at his client, the mother, than he had anticipated, but not so much as to need to fundamentally revise their approach to the trial.
Soames and Wilberforce briefly returned to their respective hotel rooms after the day in Court and then met again for dinner that evening. During dinner, Soames and Wilberforce discussed the case and how the trial was progressing.
Soames: “Mr Wilberforce, I have considerable disquiet about the behaviour of the mother. Rewarding it by allowing the children to remain living with her seems an uncomfortable, perhaps even unsavoury, result. There were many valid criticisms of the father which were canvassed today during the trial and they counted against the children living with him. However I am not sure the new man in the life of the mother is a significant improvement. He seems to be the same type of man as the father we have been criticising, only nicer.”
Wilberforce: “Nicer, for now, Soames. I expect he will become like the father in time to come.”
Soames: “That is hardly a comforting prospect for the children in this mess.”
Wilberforce: “Indeed Soames, but it is the way these cases invariably unfold.”
Soames: “In fact the more I see of him, the more I tend to not like the new male partner of our client. Happily there has been no need for him to give evidence in these proceedings.”
Wilberforce: “He has also failed to ingratiate himself with me and I have spent considerably more time with him than you have done.”
Soames: “Some of the bad behaviour of the mother seems to have been stemmed since meeting this chap. She has remained living in Rockhampton and the children are now settled in Rockhampton, attending school and doing well. Perhaps he has some redeeming features.”
Wilberforce: “If the new man is responsible for that apparent stability, perhaps he does have some redeeming features.”
The dinner continued in an otherwise uneventful fashion and after about an hour both men then retired to their respective hotel rooms.
The Trial - Day 2
With all the evidence having been completed during day one (1) of the trial, all that remained on day two (2) were final submissions.
In addressing Soames during his final submissions on behalf of the mother, the Judge said, “It was common ground int the trial that the mother had facilitated very little contact between the father and children since they left the Central Coast of New South Wales. That was something to which the father referred often when presenting his case and it was something about which I often criticised the mother.”
“There was significant criticism of the mother that she was not child-focussed in her behaviour and had not been child-focussed for some time. That criticism came from the father, the Family Report writer, the Independent Children’s Lawyer and me.”
“That criticism supported a return of the children to live with the father on the NSW Central Coast. However it was tempered by the fact that the children had finally achieved some stability in their lives and disrupting that stability to return to the Central Coast would be detrimental to the development of the children. That is a matter of some significance for the case of the mother.”
“Again, the father, the Family Report writer, the Independent Children’s Lawyer and I were all very critical of the mother, that she had organised her life to suit herself and not the children. That meant there was a significant element of rewarding the very bad behaviour of the mother in allowing the children to continue living with her in Central Queensland.”
“You can hardly argue with those criticisms, Mr Soames. I believe I have made it abundantly clear during this trial how unhappy I am about the behaviour of you client, the mother, in this case.”
Soames: “No, Your Honour, I do not propose to argue with the criticisms you have raised and you have made your displeasure with the behaviour of the mother abundantly clear. Notwithstanding all the criticisms of the mother and her behaviour, as Your Honour pointed out earlier, the children have finally achieved some stability in their lives and disrupting that stability to return to the Central Coast would be detrimental to their development. Accordingly in our submission, Your Honour would grant the orders sought by the mother and permit the children to continue living in their present circumstances.”
The Judge retired for approximately two (2) hours to consider her decision.
Opportunity Knocks
As they were waiting for the Judge to make her decision in the trial, Soames and Wilberforce decided to go to a café to get something to eat and drink.
On their way to a café across the road from the Court, Wilberforce grabbed Soames by the arm and spoke quietly in his ear,
“Soames, you know how you told me work never ends for me, well something about which I know a little is occurring right in front of us. The woman in a passionate embrace with the man is known to me. She is from Melbourne and that man she is kissing is not her husband. He is a Sydney local and is known to me too.”
Soames could clearly see the wedding ring of the woman involved in the kiss.
By this stage Wiberforce had used his mobile telephone to take two (2) or three (3) photographs of the embracing couple. Wilberforce maintained his concentration on the couple and noticed they were walking into a nearby hotel. He took more photographs of them entering the hotel and he followed them. Soames followed Wilberforce, without saying a word. When the embracing couple got into the hotel elevator together Wilberforce took his last photograph of them.
It appeared to Soames that the couple were oblivious to the presence of Wilberforce.
Soames and Wilberforce then went to a café and during their meal, Wilberforce told Soames the story of the embracing couple.
Wilberforce: “Some months ago I was retained to assist in a divorce and do a little investigation and advice work for the husband of the woman we saw in the embrace. She travelled quite a bit for work and the husband suspected she was having an affair. I was supplied with some information, including photographs of the wife. It turns out a Sydney solicitor I know also knows the Sydney man involved and he was quite happy to tell me about him. I was told the Sydney man was a giant rat, who likes to promote himself and make fun of other people. He has no loyalty whatsoever.”
“This will be unexpected information for my Melbourne solicitor colleague. I propose to provide it to him as a professional courtesy. I expect he will tell me the wife was in Sydney “on business” or ”working”. The circumstances of the working or business I have seen and photographed may be different to that told to the husband by the wife.”
Soames: “That is very decent of you, Wilberforce. And very alert as well. Experience tells me those are the moments one does not want to miss when it comes to evidence collation.”
Wilberforce: “I thought it warranted an immediate response. I am grateful for your cooperation.”
Soames: “No trouble, Mr Wilberforce. It has added a little more excitement and diversity to our day and our Sydney visit.”
Wilberforce the rang his Melbourne solicitor colleague and told him what had just occurred. The Melbourne solicitor said he made significant notes of the conversation. Wilberforce said he would write to him about it and send the photographs to him when Wilberforce returned to Brisbane.
At the end of the telephone call Soames and Wilberforce discussed the passionate embrace couple a little more and then turned their attention back to their trial.
About twenty-five (25) minutes later the associate to the Judge rang them to tell them she was returning to deliver her judgment. Soames and Wilberforce immediately returned to the Court.
The Decision
Upon her return the Judge gave her decision immediately.
- “I find that the behaviour of the mother since separation and to date in removal of the children, the manner in which she changed their residence and her failure to assist the children in the maintenance of their relationship with their father was inappropriate and reflects poorly on her understanding of parental responsibility.”
- “There is little evidence to date of a willingness on the part of the mother to facilitate a continuing relationship between the father and the children.”
- “There is considerable evidence of the inability of the mother to focus on the needs of the children, preferring instead to focus on her needs.”
- “The attitude of the mother to the responsibilities of parenthood is very unsatisfactory.”
- “There have been repeated relocations and her choice of previous partners permitted to live with the children reveal irresponsible parenting.’
- “An inability to focus on the needs of the children until very recently is apparent.”
- “Notwithstanding these significant criticisms, the children are settled in their current environment and their relationship with their mother.”
- “It would now not be in the best interests of the children to require them to relocate to the Central Coast of New South Wales.”
- “I am not comfortable making orders that seem to reward the behaviour of the mother which has been bad in so many respects, but these orders represent the best interests of the children after proper consideration of all the evidence.”
Court ended quickly after the decision was given. Everyone packed up their material and left the Court room promptly. Soames and Wilberforce went to an interview room nearby and had a short conference with the client and her new partner. They were still holding hands at every opportunity, to the significant annoyance of Soames.
After a brief explanation of the judgment to the client and her new partner, which they both seemed to understand, they announced they had to leave to catch the flight home they had booked. They then thanked both Soames and Wilberforce and left for the airport.
Soames and Wilberforce once again attended the café where they ate during the Judge considering her decision. On this occasion it was an entirely uneventful visit.
From there they caught a taxi to the airport for an uneventful flight home.
Thursday, 15 January 2015
Everything Has a Price To Pay
Friday
“This is a modern song, this is a social situation. Background for your casual conversation.” That is The Numbers doing Modern Song, Daniel Soames thought to himself as he approached the entrance to The Exchange Hotel, in Brisbane City, the venue for the gig by JFK & The Cuban Crisis he was attending that evening. That is a pretty good way to open the entertainment for the evening, he added. Once inside he saw Tabasco Cortez, Felicia, Charisma, Trent, Hamish and Mirabelle. Others arrived a little later.
This group of roughly fifteen (15) to twenty (20) young people met as a result of attending music venues such as this one, night clubs and parties. There was a roughly even spread across the sexes and they tended to continue to keep each other's company as they frequented the various performances and parties. They could hardly be called a Scooby Gang, but friendships were formed, some of which were tighter than others.
Perhaps not surprisingly sexual experimentation takes place within the group, as does experimentation with so-called recreational drugs. Many of the group were "trying to find themselves". This all took place whilst they held down jobs and some were also studying at university. For the most part they all got along, but it was not always smooth sailing within their respective relationships.
As the Disc Jockey followed The Numbers with Almost with You by The Church, Daniel thought there existed a reasonable sized original music scene in Brisbane for him to enjoy and he dismissed the talk that he so often heard from people from Sydney and Melbourne about the apparently limited entertainment available in Brisbane, Queensland Australia circa 1982. He knew from experience the Brisbane scene included a diverse range of live bands, dance clubs and parties. In fact later in the evening there was discussion amongst his group of friends about a party being held at Paddington the following afternoon, Saturday. Daniel was told that he should come along.
A little later in the evening Daniel had the following exchange with Tabasco Cortez:
Daniel: Have you heard the new album by Blue Rondo a la Turk, Chewing The Fat?
Tabasco: I thought Billy Idol or Altered Images would be more your style?
Daniel: How long have we known each other?
Tabasco: About twelve (12) months.
Daniel: Where did we meet?
Tabasco: The same as with the rest of our group, at a music venue like this one.
Daniel: What do we talk about what we get together?
Tabasco: Mostly music.
Daniel: So how is it against all of that background, you seem to not know my taste in music?
Tabasco: I guess I do not pay as much attention as I should.
JFK & The Cuban Crisis then started their gig and the rest of the world could wait, as far as Daniel was concerned.
Saturday
Buoyed by the wonderful experience of the JFK & The Cuban Crisis gig Daniel decided to attend the Paddington party Saturday afternoon.
Shortly after he arrived at the party Daniel happened upon a conversation involving Charisma, one of the females within the group, and a few other members of their group present at the party. Charisma loudly expressed her opinion about Trent and Hamish, two (2) of the younger males within the group, both of whom were only months out of high school. Daniel understood each of them to have some heterosexual experience under their respective belts, including a dalliance or three (3) with one (1) or two (2) of the girls within the group. However thanks to Charisma, he learned that those two (2) young men apparently decided to partner off or at least get together. Charisma was kind enough to share with anyone who was within earshot that she considered that this liaison was not a union based on love, but a youthful experimentation. Her disdain was clear for all to see and hear.
Daniel thought this was a surprise admission from Charisma because previously she had not expressed any sexual or romantic interest in either of the males concerned and ordinarily she was rather quiet and reserved.
Notwithstanding that obvious disdain from Charisma, Felicia asked the group if anyone had seen either Trent or Hamish that day. Mirabelle said that she had heard they both were admitted to hospital, having taken too many drugs the night before. She did not seem too concerned for either of them.
Charisma added “That is hardly surprising news. It is not the first time they have done that and I suspect it will not be the last. I expect it will mean days off work again for both of them.”
No one seemed to be arguing with Charisma.
Daniel then saw Tabasco Cortez was at the party, so he went over to talk to him. They each said that they intended to go to The Underground night club that evening.
Reality Bites
Over the next two (2) to three (3) years the Scooby Gang stayed together, for the most part, but the demands of work and life started to chip away at the group and by 1985 it had all but disintegrated.
As far as Daniel was aware, the fledgling Trent / Hamish relationship continued during that period, even though both parties apparently saw other people from time to time. Their life of experimentation had introduced them to not just social scarring, but also physical and mental scarring. Their at times rather obvious relationship was not generally accepted in the wider community. Charisma and her disdain was something with which they could deal, they thought, but dealing with the disapproval from their respective work colleagues was much harder for them individually and together. They found advancement opportunities were much rarer for them than their respective work colleagues and they ultimately realised that did not occur by accident.
Their drug taking caused them both health problems and their sexual experimentation introduced them to sexually transmitted diseases on more than one occasion. It was not uncommon for them to have to spend days in hospital to deal with the consequences of their excesses. The complications that created at work made their lives even more difficult.
Whilst they had each other they were fine and they did not notice the increasing isolation they were experiencing as the Scooby Gang chose to mix with them less and less. They also failed to immediately notice how the greater community was also not as accepting of them individually or together as that community accepted the other members of their Scooby Gang. They lived in their own bubble of youth, ignoring the outside world. When the bubble burst, the culture shock the real world had in store for them was severe.
The End Is Near, The Final Curtain?
By early 1986 the increasing tension in their relationship became too much for Trent and Hamish to bear and they ultimately ended their relationship. It was then that they found out the difficulties that their previous life choices had created for them. Their respective working environments were seriously not accepting of their homosexual disposition and lifestyle, whether it be one of convenience or genuine. They were also both experiencing increasing health problems from their considerable drug and alcohol consumption and carefree attitude to sex. Hamish learned that his liver was failing and he would probably soon need a transplant. Trent discovered that his kidneys were in a similar state of deterioration.
A future of increasing isolation and deteriorating health was not one either of them foresaw
when they decided to get together only months after they initially met. Whether their relationship was genuine or merely one of convenience, its ultimate consequences for them were very real and they both respectively acknowledged that they did not possess the skills to deal with those difficulties alone.
Hamish pursued relationships with women from time to time, none of which lasted any significant time. Both he and Trent foresaw no prospect of a reconciliation between them and they pursued separate lives.
Trent moved out of the home of his parents and into shared accommodation with two (2) other people he had met in his recent night-clubbing forays. He tried to form friendships that might offer some support to him in a life which appeared to be decaying relentlessly for him. His new friends liked to party and abuse alcohol and drugs. After five (5) months Trent realised that that shared accommodation was not a healthy environment for him and he moved back in with his parents. They continued to urge Trent to remain sufficiently focussed so that he would keep his job. To that extent they were successful. Despite his troubles, Trent managed to keep his job.
As his health deteriorated, Trent required more and more medical care and he spent considerably more time at his local public hospital. That also reduced the time available in his life to pursue social activities. Invariably Trent attended his medical appointments alone because he had no adults in his life supporting him, other than his parents.
Unbeknown to Trent, Hamish was also attending the same public hospital to receive treatment for his condition. Hamish had crossed paths again with Felicia when they simultaneously attended the same music shop. They spent some time together catching up over several months and whilst no romantic relationship was formed, Felicia was someone from whom Hamish gained support for his situation. In that regard, Felicia was more valuable to Hamish than any of the girlfriends he may have had at the time.
Felicia and Charisma
Whilst accompanying Hamish during one of his hospital visits, Felicia ran into Charisma, who worked as a Patient Liaison Officer at the hospital. Felicia and Charisma had not seen each other for a couple of years. They spent a little time catching up and Felicia told Charisma she was at the hospital providing some support to Hamish. Charisma told Felicia both Hamish and Trent were patients at the hospital and they had been scheduled for serious surgery: Trent for a kidney transplant and Hamish for a liver transplant. The surgery was scheduled to proceed in the next month.
Felicia and Charisma discussed whether there was any benefit in telling both Trent and Hamish they were patients at the same hospital. They decided not to tell them at that stage. However it was obvious that both women were saddened by the situations in which their Scooby Gang friends had found themselves.
Trent - Kidney Transplant
When Trent was admitted to hospital to undergo his kidney transplant surgery, Charisma contacted Felicia and asked her whether she wanted to visit and support Trent. Charisma told Felicia she would be keeping a close watch on Trent and see how the surgery progressed.
“Can you let me know when the surgery is over and I will go and visit him?”, Felicia asked Charisma.
“Certainly”, Felicia replied.
Eighteen (18) hours later Charisma telephoned Felicia.
“I have some terrible news for you. Trent died during surgery earlier today. The liver transplant surgery for Hamish is scheduled for three (3) days time. I will leave it up to you at the moment as to whether you tell Hamish what happened with Trent.”
“That is terrible news about Trent, Charisma. I did not know him well, but he did not seem that bad. Tragic to die so young”, Felicia replied.
Charisma: “If you like, we can get together later and talk about it. We can talk about Hamish too. His condition is worse than Trent and his prospects were not said to be as good.”
Felicia: “Yes. I would like that. We can also talk about what, if anything, I tell Hamish about Trent.”
Charisma met Felicia at a café near her and they spent about two (2) hours talking about Trent, Hamish and old times.
Felicia said several times to Charisma, “I cannot decide whether to tell Hamish about Trent and I do not know how to tell him, even if I decide to tell him.”
Charisma did not pressure Felicia. She offered her support and tried to let her decide what she wanted to do.
Just before they left and went home Charisma said, “Felicia, I will do what I can to organise my schedule to be with you when Hamish is taken in to surgery.”
Hamish - Liver Transplant
Felicia saw Hamish the night before his surgery and told him about Trent. She could see the news was upsetting for him. Felicia tried to be positive with Hamish, but she could see it was all very difficult for him. She did not stay very long that evening and said she would be at the hospital the next day supporting him.
Not long after they arrived at the hospital for the surgery, Charisma greeted Hamish and Felicia and said she would do what she could to assist them. Hamish was surprised to see Charisma, but grateful and he thanked her for visiting and supporting him. Both women could see that Hamish was worried.
As the preparations for surgery for Hamish really got underway, Charisma could see the tears welling in the eyes of Felicia. It was something she had seen many times before in similar situations.
Charisma stood beside Felicia and hugged her as Hamish was taken into surgery.
A portable music player nearby was playing Boy George and Culture Club performing Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?
“This is a modern song, this is a social situation. Background for your casual conversation.” That is The Numbers doing Modern Song, Daniel Soames thought to himself as he approached the entrance to The Exchange Hotel, in Brisbane City, the venue for the gig by JFK & The Cuban Crisis he was attending that evening. That is a pretty good way to open the entertainment for the evening, he added. Once inside he saw Tabasco Cortez, Felicia, Charisma, Trent, Hamish and Mirabelle. Others arrived a little later.
This group of roughly fifteen (15) to twenty (20) young people met as a result of attending music venues such as this one, night clubs and parties. There was a roughly even spread across the sexes and they tended to continue to keep each other's company as they frequented the various performances and parties. They could hardly be called a Scooby Gang, but friendships were formed, some of which were tighter than others.
Perhaps not surprisingly sexual experimentation takes place within the group, as does experimentation with so-called recreational drugs. Many of the group were "trying to find themselves". This all took place whilst they held down jobs and some were also studying at university. For the most part they all got along, but it was not always smooth sailing within their respective relationships.
As the Disc Jockey followed The Numbers with Almost with You by The Church, Daniel thought there existed a reasonable sized original music scene in Brisbane for him to enjoy and he dismissed the talk that he so often heard from people from Sydney and Melbourne about the apparently limited entertainment available in Brisbane, Queensland Australia circa 1982. He knew from experience the Brisbane scene included a diverse range of live bands, dance clubs and parties. In fact later in the evening there was discussion amongst his group of friends about a party being held at Paddington the following afternoon, Saturday. Daniel was told that he should come along.
A little later in the evening Daniel had the following exchange with Tabasco Cortez:
Daniel: Have you heard the new album by Blue Rondo a la Turk, Chewing The Fat?
Tabasco: I thought Billy Idol or Altered Images would be more your style?
Daniel: How long have we known each other?
Tabasco: About twelve (12) months.
Daniel: Where did we meet?
Tabasco: The same as with the rest of our group, at a music venue like this one.
Daniel: What do we talk about what we get together?
Tabasco: Mostly music.
Daniel: So how is it against all of that background, you seem to not know my taste in music?
Tabasco: I guess I do not pay as much attention as I should.
JFK & The Cuban Crisis then started their gig and the rest of the world could wait, as far as Daniel was concerned.
Saturday
Buoyed by the wonderful experience of the JFK & The Cuban Crisis gig Daniel decided to attend the Paddington party Saturday afternoon.
Shortly after he arrived at the party Daniel happened upon a conversation involving Charisma, one of the females within the group, and a few other members of their group present at the party. Charisma loudly expressed her opinion about Trent and Hamish, two (2) of the younger males within the group, both of whom were only months out of high school. Daniel understood each of them to have some heterosexual experience under their respective belts, including a dalliance or three (3) with one (1) or two (2) of the girls within the group. However thanks to Charisma, he learned that those two (2) young men apparently decided to partner off or at least get together. Charisma was kind enough to share with anyone who was within earshot that she considered that this liaison was not a union based on love, but a youthful experimentation. Her disdain was clear for all to see and hear.
Daniel thought this was a surprise admission from Charisma because previously she had not expressed any sexual or romantic interest in either of the males concerned and ordinarily she was rather quiet and reserved.
Notwithstanding that obvious disdain from Charisma, Felicia asked the group if anyone had seen either Trent or Hamish that day. Mirabelle said that she had heard they both were admitted to hospital, having taken too many drugs the night before. She did not seem too concerned for either of them.
Charisma added “That is hardly surprising news. It is not the first time they have done that and I suspect it will not be the last. I expect it will mean days off work again for both of them.”
No one seemed to be arguing with Charisma.
Daniel then saw Tabasco Cortez was at the party, so he went over to talk to him. They each said that they intended to go to The Underground night club that evening.
Reality Bites
Over the next two (2) to three (3) years the Scooby Gang stayed together, for the most part, but the demands of work and life started to chip away at the group and by 1985 it had all but disintegrated.
As far as Daniel was aware, the fledgling Trent / Hamish relationship continued during that period, even though both parties apparently saw other people from time to time. Their life of experimentation had introduced them to not just social scarring, but also physical and mental scarring. Their at times rather obvious relationship was not generally accepted in the wider community. Charisma and her disdain was something with which they could deal, they thought, but dealing with the disapproval from their respective work colleagues was much harder for them individually and together. They found advancement opportunities were much rarer for them than their respective work colleagues and they ultimately realised that did not occur by accident.
Their drug taking caused them both health problems and their sexual experimentation introduced them to sexually transmitted diseases on more than one occasion. It was not uncommon for them to have to spend days in hospital to deal with the consequences of their excesses. The complications that created at work made their lives even more difficult.
Whilst they had each other they were fine and they did not notice the increasing isolation they were experiencing as the Scooby Gang chose to mix with them less and less. They also failed to immediately notice how the greater community was also not as accepting of them individually or together as that community accepted the other members of their Scooby Gang. They lived in their own bubble of youth, ignoring the outside world. When the bubble burst, the culture shock the real world had in store for them was severe.
The End Is Near, The Final Curtain?
By early 1986 the increasing tension in their relationship became too much for Trent and Hamish to bear and they ultimately ended their relationship. It was then that they found out the difficulties that their previous life choices had created for them. Their respective working environments were seriously not accepting of their homosexual disposition and lifestyle, whether it be one of convenience or genuine. They were also both experiencing increasing health problems from their considerable drug and alcohol consumption and carefree attitude to sex. Hamish learned that his liver was failing and he would probably soon need a transplant. Trent discovered that his kidneys were in a similar state of deterioration.
A future of increasing isolation and deteriorating health was not one either of them foresaw
when they decided to get together only months after they initially met. Whether their relationship was genuine or merely one of convenience, its ultimate consequences for them were very real and they both respectively acknowledged that they did not possess the skills to deal with those difficulties alone.
Hamish pursued relationships with women from time to time, none of which lasted any significant time. Both he and Trent foresaw no prospect of a reconciliation between them and they pursued separate lives.
Trent moved out of the home of his parents and into shared accommodation with two (2) other people he had met in his recent night-clubbing forays. He tried to form friendships that might offer some support to him in a life which appeared to be decaying relentlessly for him. His new friends liked to party and abuse alcohol and drugs. After five (5) months Trent realised that that shared accommodation was not a healthy environment for him and he moved back in with his parents. They continued to urge Trent to remain sufficiently focussed so that he would keep his job. To that extent they were successful. Despite his troubles, Trent managed to keep his job.
As his health deteriorated, Trent required more and more medical care and he spent considerably more time at his local public hospital. That also reduced the time available in his life to pursue social activities. Invariably Trent attended his medical appointments alone because he had no adults in his life supporting him, other than his parents.
Unbeknown to Trent, Hamish was also attending the same public hospital to receive treatment for his condition. Hamish had crossed paths again with Felicia when they simultaneously attended the same music shop. They spent some time together catching up over several months and whilst no romantic relationship was formed, Felicia was someone from whom Hamish gained support for his situation. In that regard, Felicia was more valuable to Hamish than any of the girlfriends he may have had at the time.
Felicia and Charisma
Whilst accompanying Hamish during one of his hospital visits, Felicia ran into Charisma, who worked as a Patient Liaison Officer at the hospital. Felicia and Charisma had not seen each other for a couple of years. They spent a little time catching up and Felicia told Charisma she was at the hospital providing some support to Hamish. Charisma told Felicia both Hamish and Trent were patients at the hospital and they had been scheduled for serious surgery: Trent for a kidney transplant and Hamish for a liver transplant. The surgery was scheduled to proceed in the next month.
Felicia and Charisma discussed whether there was any benefit in telling both Trent and Hamish they were patients at the same hospital. They decided not to tell them at that stage. However it was obvious that both women were saddened by the situations in which their Scooby Gang friends had found themselves.
Trent - Kidney Transplant
When Trent was admitted to hospital to undergo his kidney transplant surgery, Charisma contacted Felicia and asked her whether she wanted to visit and support Trent. Charisma told Felicia she would be keeping a close watch on Trent and see how the surgery progressed.
“Can you let me know when the surgery is over and I will go and visit him?”, Felicia asked Charisma.
“Certainly”, Felicia replied.
Eighteen (18) hours later Charisma telephoned Felicia.
“I have some terrible news for you. Trent died during surgery earlier today. The liver transplant surgery for Hamish is scheduled for three (3) days time. I will leave it up to you at the moment as to whether you tell Hamish what happened with Trent.”
“That is terrible news about Trent, Charisma. I did not know him well, but he did not seem that bad. Tragic to die so young”, Felicia replied.
Charisma: “If you like, we can get together later and talk about it. We can talk about Hamish too. His condition is worse than Trent and his prospects were not said to be as good.”
Felicia: “Yes. I would like that. We can also talk about what, if anything, I tell Hamish about Trent.”
Charisma met Felicia at a café near her and they spent about two (2) hours talking about Trent, Hamish and old times.
Felicia said several times to Charisma, “I cannot decide whether to tell Hamish about Trent and I do not know how to tell him, even if I decide to tell him.”
Charisma did not pressure Felicia. She offered her support and tried to let her decide what she wanted to do.
Just before they left and went home Charisma said, “Felicia, I will do what I can to organise my schedule to be with you when Hamish is taken in to surgery.”
Hamish - Liver Transplant
Felicia saw Hamish the night before his surgery and told him about Trent. She could see the news was upsetting for him. Felicia tried to be positive with Hamish, but she could see it was all very difficult for him. She did not stay very long that evening and said she would be at the hospital the next day supporting him.
Not long after they arrived at the hospital for the surgery, Charisma greeted Hamish and Felicia and said she would do what she could to assist them. Hamish was surprised to see Charisma, but grateful and he thanked her for visiting and supporting him. Both women could see that Hamish was worried.
As the preparations for surgery for Hamish really got underway, Charisma could see the tears welling in the eyes of Felicia. It was something she had seen many times before in similar situations.
Charisma stood beside Felicia and hugged her as Hamish was taken into surgery.
A portable music player nearby was playing Boy George and Culture Club performing Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?
Tuesday, 6 January 2015
Dressed For Success
The First Time
Evangeline Urbane had crossed paths with Daniel Soames somewhat by surprise. She was in town again for business and she knew Daniel was keen to see her. He had told her so in many telephone conversations. The first time they were together was memorable in more ways than one. She gave away her attraction to Daniel and her intentions several times during dinner. When they finally adjourned to her hotel room, she was definitely the centre of his attention.
“I will make us a cup of tea” Evangeline said during a pause in proceedings.
“OK”, Daniel said happily.
Evangeline rose happily from the bed and walked over to the bench in her hotel room where the kettle and the cups and saucers had been placed. When she was making the tea Daniel sat up in bed and marvelled at the naked beauty before him.
Why did I not pay more attention the first time she made tea for us? She is gorgeous, he thought. Daniel had an uninterrupted rear view of Evangeline and he was enjoying every moment of it. Her tan lines were prominent enough to make clear she kept her bikini on at the beach and her bottom was covered, rather than bared in a thong. Of course, he thought, this radiant beauty should not be flaunted willy, nilly. Ms Forty Something had completely captivated Daniel. He remembered the underwear he had removed from Evangeline well over an hour earlier. Normally I would prefer women to wear G-string knickers, but hers covered considerably more of her bottom. Very sensible for business and very attractive on her, he thought.
In making them each a cup of tea whilst naked Evangeline had not only been practical, but had given Daniel a long-lasting fabulous experience with her. He told her so many times during their telephone calls.
It definitely enhanced their experience together when they had finished drinking their tea and they resumed their more personal interaction. Neither of them slept very much that evening and when it came time to leave, Daniel told Evangeline he was very keen to see her again.
In a subsequent telephone conversation shortly after that encounter, Evangeline told Daniel that she would do her best to ensure that whenever she saw him again, she would wear G-string knickers for him. No one had ever been that impressed with her bottom before and she was happy to accommodate his taste for and admiration of hers.
The Next Time
The next time had arrived for Evangeline and the arrangements she had made with Daniel to see him came together well. She told him the room number of the hotel in which she was staying and he could proceed straight to her room. She did not have to meet him in the foyer.
Daniel happily made his way to her hotel room and Evangeline promptly answered the door when Daniel knocked on it.
Once Daniel was inside her hotel room, Evangeline closed the door and secured it so they were unlikely to be interrupted. They embraced immediately and there was an extended introductory kiss. Daniel removed his jacket and put it over a chair. It gave him an opportunity to better see what Evangeline was wearing. A sensible white long-sleeved blouse that served her well in her corporate world was very attractive on her in her hotel room. The modest straight black skirt just touching her knees was also seemingly from her corporate wardrobe.
That was when the evening got very interesting. Daniel hugged and kissed Evangeline again and put his hands on her bottom whilst he was doing so. It was magnificent he thought. Evangeline seemed to be enjoying the attention her bottom was receiving. Soon Daniel turned Evangeline round so that her back was squarely to him and he gently took hold of the bottom of her skirt. He slowly lifted the sensible black work skirt until the bottom of Evangeline was completely uncovered.
What greeted Daniel was a delightful sight. Evangeline was true to her word and wore G-string knickers. It was one thing to feel her bottom through her skirt, it was another to see it bare in the flesh, he thought. He definitely liked what he saw. He could wait no longer, he put his hands on the beautiful bare bottom of Evangeline and it was even better than he thought it would be. Daniel was completely focussed upon Evangeline and her beautiful bare bottom. He caressed it with one hand, he caressed with both hands. It was a spectacular sight and an even better feeling. His arousal continued to grow, the more attention he paid to the bottom of Evangeline.
Daniel could see Evangeline was enjoying the attention also and her arousal was escalating. Her moaning was an obvious indicator of the delight she was experiencing. She was in no hurry to change positions and stop Daniel from paying attention to her bottom.
It was time for the skirt to come off, Daniel thought, and Evangeline seemed to agree, as she helped with its removal. As Daniel put her skirt over the back of a chair, Evangeline re-positioned herself by putting her hands on the table in the room and leaning forward so Daniel could continue paying attention to her beautiful bare bottom. He did so with great pleasure and started by kissing her cheeks. First one, then the other.
Evangeline was exhilarated by the feel of the lips of Daniel on the cheeks of her bottom. She moaned with delight. The feel of his breath just before his lips made contact was enough to increase her arousal. She was not moving, she wanted more of this attention. Her legs were responding to all the attention she was receiving by wobbling from time to time. Slightly, initially and then more obviously as the attention increased.
Daniel then started to stroke and caress her bare bottom again, whilst he was kissing it. Evangeline had all of his attention and they both loved it. He stood up and gently moved the long brunette hair of Evangeline, so that he could started kissing her neck. Firstly whilst caressing her bottom and then moving his hands to her torso and breasts. Evangeline moved her head slightly to the side so as to give Daniel better access to her neck.
After a couple of minutes Daniel slowly started undoing the buttons on the blouse of Evangeline and she did not stop him. With her blouse completely open Daniel stroked the breasts of Evangeline covered by a surprisingly sexy bra for what was a work outfit. Before long the bra was removed as well and Evangeline did not move from her position whilst Daniel put her blouse and bra over the same chair on which he put her skirt.
She happily looked over her shoulder as Daniel walked the short distance from the chair to Evangeline. Now completely naked, she was an exquisite sight, Daniel thought. Her smile made her look even more inviting.
Daniel started caressing her bottom again and Evangeline slumped forward a little on the table. Her knees were starting to have trouble supporting her. As he moved his attention to stroking her bare breasts Evangeline did not diminish her enjoyment. She caressed the hands of Daniel as they caressed her breasts. Daniel was pressed hard against Evangeline and she could feel the extent of his interest in her.
A very happy Evangeline said, “It is time for you to get naked” and she commenced undoing the trousers of Daniel. He did not resist and undid the buttons on his shirt. After Daniel put his shirt on a chair next to the chair where he put the clothes of Evangeline, he walked over to the bed and sat down to remove his boots and socks.
Evangeline turned to face him so that he had a clear front-on view of her. He was delighted with what he saw and she could tell. When he had removed his boots and socks, he put them beside the chair on which he put his shirt. He then removed his trousers and underwear and put them on the chair with his shirt.
“That is better”, Evangeline said to Daniel, when she saw him completely naked. Evangeline could see the interest Daniel had for her. It was unmistakable.
Daniel walked over to Evangeline and kissed her for quite some time. He happily grabbed her beautiful bare bottom and pulled her closer to him. As he caressed her bottom she could feel his interest in her grow and it pleased her significantly.
He then stopped to change position and as he let go of Evangeline a little, she seemed to wobble slightly at the knees. Daniel took hold of her again and turned her around, so that her back was to him. He caressed her bare bottom for a little while and then moved his hands to her breasts. Whilst he caressed them he pulled her very close to him and she could feel his interest in her hard up against her bare bottom. She loved the attention she was getting and she stroked the hands of Daniel as they caressed her breasts.
The bed beckoned for them both and Daniel led Evangeline to it. He gently put her into the middle of the bed and commenced to kiss her navel. As he progressed up her torso towards her bare breasts Evangeline did not discourage any of the attention she was receiving from Daniel.
Coherent conversation was for another time.
Daniel said to Evangeline from time to time, “You are gorgeous, absolutely amazing”.
Her reply consisted of “Oh” and “Ah” from time to time and also “Keep doing what you are doing”.
The breasts of Evangeline occupied the attention of Daniel for some time and her enjoyment increased commensurate with that attention. His aim was to bring her to orgasm by kissing and licking her nipples. It seemed to be working. Her nipples were getting harder, her moaning louder and goose bumps were appearing. When Evangeline grabbed Daniel by the head and pressed it firmly to her left breast, he knew he should keep doing what he was doing.
About three (3) minutes later Evangeline let go of the head of Daniel and put her arms by her side. If the exclamation by Evangeline did not confirm what had just happened, her erect nipples and goose bumps did.
Evangeline then kissed Daniel again and their interaction became even more personal.
An hour and a half later they fell asleep, wrapped around each other.
The Next Morning
When they awoke the next morning they resumed their personal interaction for a while. The demands of their work schedules meant they had to adjourn for breakfast and the working day, but not before they enjoyed a very pleasant shower together.
As breakfast ended, they knew they had to attend to their work commitments.
Daniel said to Evangeline, “Please do whatever you can to organise your work schedule to visit again, you are exquisite.”
Evangeline said, “I will see what I can do” and kissed Daniel goodbye.
Two (2) Days Later
Daniel was still exhilarated by his encounter with Evangeline when he telephoned her two (2) days later and he told her so, several times.
“You are not the only one on a high, Daniel. I cannot believe how arousing it was when you greeted me and put your hands all over my bottom. That is absolutely the best place to start for me”, Evangeline replied
Daniel: “I have every intention of starting there again the next time I see you.”
Evangeline: “I can feel you slowly lifting my skirt and it is making me wet. I have to attend a meeting in twenty (20) minutes, so I should stop talking to you and try to focus on the meeting. Thank you for a fabulous time. I will ring you tomorrow.”
Daniel: “Thank you for a fabulous time too.”
Evangeline Urbane had crossed paths with Daniel Soames somewhat by surprise. She was in town again for business and she knew Daniel was keen to see her. He had told her so in many telephone conversations. The first time they were together was memorable in more ways than one. She gave away her attraction to Daniel and her intentions several times during dinner. When they finally adjourned to her hotel room, she was definitely the centre of his attention.
“I will make us a cup of tea” Evangeline said during a pause in proceedings.
“OK”, Daniel said happily.
Evangeline rose happily from the bed and walked over to the bench in her hotel room where the kettle and the cups and saucers had been placed. When she was making the tea Daniel sat up in bed and marvelled at the naked beauty before him.
Why did I not pay more attention the first time she made tea for us? She is gorgeous, he thought. Daniel had an uninterrupted rear view of Evangeline and he was enjoying every moment of it. Her tan lines were prominent enough to make clear she kept her bikini on at the beach and her bottom was covered, rather than bared in a thong. Of course, he thought, this radiant beauty should not be flaunted willy, nilly. Ms Forty Something had completely captivated Daniel. He remembered the underwear he had removed from Evangeline well over an hour earlier. Normally I would prefer women to wear G-string knickers, but hers covered considerably more of her bottom. Very sensible for business and very attractive on her, he thought.
In making them each a cup of tea whilst naked Evangeline had not only been practical, but had given Daniel a long-lasting fabulous experience with her. He told her so many times during their telephone calls.
It definitely enhanced their experience together when they had finished drinking their tea and they resumed their more personal interaction. Neither of them slept very much that evening and when it came time to leave, Daniel told Evangeline he was very keen to see her again.
In a subsequent telephone conversation shortly after that encounter, Evangeline told Daniel that she would do her best to ensure that whenever she saw him again, she would wear G-string knickers for him. No one had ever been that impressed with her bottom before and she was happy to accommodate his taste for and admiration of hers.
The Next Time
The next time had arrived for Evangeline and the arrangements she had made with Daniel to see him came together well. She told him the room number of the hotel in which she was staying and he could proceed straight to her room. She did not have to meet him in the foyer.
Daniel happily made his way to her hotel room and Evangeline promptly answered the door when Daniel knocked on it.
Once Daniel was inside her hotel room, Evangeline closed the door and secured it so they were unlikely to be interrupted. They embraced immediately and there was an extended introductory kiss. Daniel removed his jacket and put it over a chair. It gave him an opportunity to better see what Evangeline was wearing. A sensible white long-sleeved blouse that served her well in her corporate world was very attractive on her in her hotel room. The modest straight black skirt just touching her knees was also seemingly from her corporate wardrobe.
That was when the evening got very interesting. Daniel hugged and kissed Evangeline again and put his hands on her bottom whilst he was doing so. It was magnificent he thought. Evangeline seemed to be enjoying the attention her bottom was receiving. Soon Daniel turned Evangeline round so that her back was squarely to him and he gently took hold of the bottom of her skirt. He slowly lifted the sensible black work skirt until the bottom of Evangeline was completely uncovered.
What greeted Daniel was a delightful sight. Evangeline was true to her word and wore G-string knickers. It was one thing to feel her bottom through her skirt, it was another to see it bare in the flesh, he thought. He definitely liked what he saw. He could wait no longer, he put his hands on the beautiful bare bottom of Evangeline and it was even better than he thought it would be. Daniel was completely focussed upon Evangeline and her beautiful bare bottom. He caressed it with one hand, he caressed with both hands. It was a spectacular sight and an even better feeling. His arousal continued to grow, the more attention he paid to the bottom of Evangeline.
Daniel could see Evangeline was enjoying the attention also and her arousal was escalating. Her moaning was an obvious indicator of the delight she was experiencing. She was in no hurry to change positions and stop Daniel from paying attention to her bottom.
It was time for the skirt to come off, Daniel thought, and Evangeline seemed to agree, as she helped with its removal. As Daniel put her skirt over the back of a chair, Evangeline re-positioned herself by putting her hands on the table in the room and leaning forward so Daniel could continue paying attention to her beautiful bare bottom. He did so with great pleasure and started by kissing her cheeks. First one, then the other.
Evangeline was exhilarated by the feel of the lips of Daniel on the cheeks of her bottom. She moaned with delight. The feel of his breath just before his lips made contact was enough to increase her arousal. She was not moving, she wanted more of this attention. Her legs were responding to all the attention she was receiving by wobbling from time to time. Slightly, initially and then more obviously as the attention increased.
Daniel then started to stroke and caress her bare bottom again, whilst he was kissing it. Evangeline had all of his attention and they both loved it. He stood up and gently moved the long brunette hair of Evangeline, so that he could started kissing her neck. Firstly whilst caressing her bottom and then moving his hands to her torso and breasts. Evangeline moved her head slightly to the side so as to give Daniel better access to her neck.
After a couple of minutes Daniel slowly started undoing the buttons on the blouse of Evangeline and she did not stop him. With her blouse completely open Daniel stroked the breasts of Evangeline covered by a surprisingly sexy bra for what was a work outfit. Before long the bra was removed as well and Evangeline did not move from her position whilst Daniel put her blouse and bra over the same chair on which he put her skirt.
She happily looked over her shoulder as Daniel walked the short distance from the chair to Evangeline. Now completely naked, she was an exquisite sight, Daniel thought. Her smile made her look even more inviting.
Daniel started caressing her bottom again and Evangeline slumped forward a little on the table. Her knees were starting to have trouble supporting her. As he moved his attention to stroking her bare breasts Evangeline did not diminish her enjoyment. She caressed the hands of Daniel as they caressed her breasts. Daniel was pressed hard against Evangeline and she could feel the extent of his interest in her.
A very happy Evangeline said, “It is time for you to get naked” and she commenced undoing the trousers of Daniel. He did not resist and undid the buttons on his shirt. After Daniel put his shirt on a chair next to the chair where he put the clothes of Evangeline, he walked over to the bed and sat down to remove his boots and socks.
Evangeline turned to face him so that he had a clear front-on view of her. He was delighted with what he saw and she could tell. When he had removed his boots and socks, he put them beside the chair on which he put his shirt. He then removed his trousers and underwear and put them on the chair with his shirt.
“That is better”, Evangeline said to Daniel, when she saw him completely naked. Evangeline could see the interest Daniel had for her. It was unmistakable.
Daniel walked over to Evangeline and kissed her for quite some time. He happily grabbed her beautiful bare bottom and pulled her closer to him. As he caressed her bottom she could feel his interest in her grow and it pleased her significantly.
He then stopped to change position and as he let go of Evangeline a little, she seemed to wobble slightly at the knees. Daniel took hold of her again and turned her around, so that her back was to him. He caressed her bare bottom for a little while and then moved his hands to her breasts. Whilst he caressed them he pulled her very close to him and she could feel his interest in her hard up against her bare bottom. She loved the attention she was getting and she stroked the hands of Daniel as they caressed her breasts.
The bed beckoned for them both and Daniel led Evangeline to it. He gently put her into the middle of the bed and commenced to kiss her navel. As he progressed up her torso towards her bare breasts Evangeline did not discourage any of the attention she was receiving from Daniel.
Coherent conversation was for another time.
Daniel said to Evangeline from time to time, “You are gorgeous, absolutely amazing”.
Her reply consisted of “Oh” and “Ah” from time to time and also “Keep doing what you are doing”.
The breasts of Evangeline occupied the attention of Daniel for some time and her enjoyment increased commensurate with that attention. His aim was to bring her to orgasm by kissing and licking her nipples. It seemed to be working. Her nipples were getting harder, her moaning louder and goose bumps were appearing. When Evangeline grabbed Daniel by the head and pressed it firmly to her left breast, he knew he should keep doing what he was doing.
About three (3) minutes later Evangeline let go of the head of Daniel and put her arms by her side. If the exclamation by Evangeline did not confirm what had just happened, her erect nipples and goose bumps did.
Evangeline then kissed Daniel again and their interaction became even more personal.
An hour and a half later they fell asleep, wrapped around each other.
The Next Morning
When they awoke the next morning they resumed their personal interaction for a while. The demands of their work schedules meant they had to adjourn for breakfast and the working day, but not before they enjoyed a very pleasant shower together.
As breakfast ended, they knew they had to attend to their work commitments.
Daniel said to Evangeline, “Please do whatever you can to organise your work schedule to visit again, you are exquisite.”
Evangeline said, “I will see what I can do” and kissed Daniel goodbye.
Two (2) Days Later
Daniel was still exhilarated by his encounter with Evangeline when he telephoned her two (2) days later and he told her so, several times.
“You are not the only one on a high, Daniel. I cannot believe how arousing it was when you greeted me and put your hands all over my bottom. That is absolutely the best place to start for me”, Evangeline replied
Daniel: “I have every intention of starting there again the next time I see you.”
Evangeline: “I can feel you slowly lifting my skirt and it is making me wet. I have to attend a meeting in twenty (20) minutes, so I should stop talking to you and try to focus on the meeting. Thank you for a fabulous time. I will ring you tomorrow.”
Daniel: “Thank you for a fabulous time too.”
Monday, 15 December 2014
Who Bears The Costs?
Family law litigation is often attendant with high emotion and all too often lawyers who put amassing fees ahead of acting in and advancing the best interests of the client. One such matter found its way to the desk of Daniel Soames on the day it was due in Court.
Conference In Chambers
Upon being apprised of its history, he was not surprised to see that the client thought she could act for herself to save herself some considerable money in the process. However once the first conference between Mrs Cudmore, her solicitor and Daniel, got reasonably underway, Mrs Cudmore found she was well out of her depth and understood nowhere near enough of the crucial matters and issues to continue to act for herself.
During that conference, in an attempt to give Mrs Cudmore an appreciation of the reality of the world into which she had now ventured, Daniel shared with her his observation of the realities of judicial appointments.
“Mrs Cudmore, as careful as any government might be in selecting its candidates for judicial office, the one criteria that can never be predicted and it may even be the most important, is the effect judicial office and its attendant power will have on the individual office bearer. Accordingly you need to accept the reality that now Federal Magistrate Cloak has charge of this matter, he can do pretty much whatever he likes with it and in my experience, that is precisely what some judicial officers do.
“Cloak FM has a reputation of being an interventionist judicial officer and my knowledge of and friendship with him is no guarantee that any bee he may get in his bonnet about your case is able to be controlled by us, if he determines that a particular result ought occur in this case. Some people seek to justify or at least rationalise that behaviour with the explanation that it is behaviour that seeks to encourage people to settle their matters, rather than have judges decide them in Court. I offer no opinion on that theory. Feel free to make up your own mind in respect of it.”
Daniel continued, “Notwithstanding that you say you have reached agreement with your former husband in respect of the property settlement and the orders you want the Court to make in respect of that property, I expect Cloak FM will tell you that he needs to be satisfied as to the justice and equity of the orders sought by the litigants and that will involve him assessing the material that has being placed before the Court. If he feels that the relevant material provided is not sufficient, then he will not make the orders and will adjourn the matter to allow proper material to be filed and served.
“The material in your case appears to have been prepared entirely by you and in my view may well be seen by the Court as being deficient. That could lead to the orders not being made and an adjournment of the matter to improve that material, as I have just indicated. That will be a judgement call by Cloak FM and we will only know his view on it when he tells it to us. For your sake I will endeavour to convince him that no adjournment is necessary.
“That adjournment may also lead to a costs order, which would probably be made against you, if the adjournment was thought necessary by the Court and once again that will be a matter purely in the discretion of the Court. Having said all that, I will do what I can to finalise this matter for you today.”
Court - Day 1
Once the matter came on in Court Cloak FM was not happy with the material filed by Mrs Cudmore, whom he openly observed was a litigant who prepared the documents by herself at the relevant time, even though she had legal representation in the early stages of the matter from a firm who proudly touted that they possessed an accredited specialist in family law on staff.
Cloak FM said, “The material filed by the mother did not satisfy the criteria of justice and equity in property settlement matters, so even though the parties have apparently agreed on a settlement and the orders they sought from the Court, the matter will have to be adjourned, so that the material of the mother could be amended to reach the relevant standard.”
Cloak FM made enquiries of the mother and her preparation for the application, particularly in relation to her legal representation and the assistance and advice that was given to her by her former legal representatives.
Cloak FM: “I am inclined to order the costs of the adjournment be paid by the former solicitors of the mother, particularly as they were apparently accredited family law specialists. Those costs would not only be the costs of the of the adjournment of the mother, but also the costs of the father.”
“I make Orders requiring the attendance of those solicitors to the Court on the next occasion this matter is before me and will hear them on the issue of costs. It is unlikely that I will be persuaded against making the foreshadowed costs orders. The quantum of those orders would be significant. I expect, perhaps $12,000.”
Court - Day 2
When the matter again came before Cloak FM he was satisfied the material of the mother now met the requisite standard and the consent Orders sought by the parties were made by the Court, without further delay.
His Honour then said, “In terms of the costs issue, I take the view that the solicitors who had previously acted for Mrs Cudmore, the mother, did not properly discharge their professional duty in advising the mother in relation to this property settlement, nor did they take proper instructions from the mother to properly prepare and advance her property settlement matter. Accordingly the employed solicitor handling the matter and the supervising partner, who was an accredited specialist in family law, would be jointly and severally liable for the costs thrown away as a result of the inadequate preparation of the material of the mother. Those costs would be fixed in the amount of $12,000.”
His Honour continued, in open Court, “I will happily tell all of my colleagues of:
• The standard of preparation undertaken and advice given by this firm;
• The delay that inadequate preparation and advice necessitated; and
• My response to that unsatisfactory professional behaviour.
I will also encourage my colleagues to take a similar approach, should such behaviour present itself in their Courts.”
Outside Court
When the matter was finalised in Court Daniel, Mrs Cudmore and the solicitor adjourned to one of the nearby conference rooms to discuss the proceedings and the impact upon Mrs Cudmore.
Daniel said to Mrs Cudmore and her solicitor, “Ordinarily one might expect to hear a little chatter in the back of a Court when matters such as this are proceeding. However on this occasion there was an unusual, almost deathly, silence and the audience appeared to be captive, as well as more than a little stunned, by the proceedings. Perhaps Mrs Cudmore this might lead to some solicitors actually taking their responsibility to you and those like you more seriously.
“What it means in reality for you is, for all intents and purposes your former solicitors will make a significant financial contribution to your legal costs for these proceedings. I expect that was an outcome that was in no part on their radar when they took on your case and when they were acting for you.”
“It is one thing for a judicial officer to threaten such an Order, it is quite another for them to actually put it into practice. Needless to say it is an Order and an approach I endorse wholeheartedly. I expect your current solicitor will receive correspondence from your previous solicitors in the near future in relation to that costs Order.”
“If either of you have any trouble in relation to that costs Order, please do not hesitate to contact me and we can discuss whatever problems might arise. Other than that and the logistics of implementing the Orders that were just made by the Court, this matter is finalised. If neither of you have any other questions, then we are all free to go.”
The solicitor said he had no questions and was happy with the outcome.
Mrs Cudmore said, “I have no questions and I am happy with the outcome. I am also very happy that I got you two as my legal representatives because I realised that after everything that had gone on, I was well out of my depth. There was no way I could not have done justice to my case on my own.”
Daniel said, “Well then I think I will return to Chambers. Thank you both for the brief and I wish you both well.”
Daniel then walked alone back to his Chambers.
Conference In Chambers
Upon being apprised of its history, he was not surprised to see that the client thought she could act for herself to save herself some considerable money in the process. However once the first conference between Mrs Cudmore, her solicitor and Daniel, got reasonably underway, Mrs Cudmore found she was well out of her depth and understood nowhere near enough of the crucial matters and issues to continue to act for herself.
During that conference, in an attempt to give Mrs Cudmore an appreciation of the reality of the world into which she had now ventured, Daniel shared with her his observation of the realities of judicial appointments.
“Mrs Cudmore, as careful as any government might be in selecting its candidates for judicial office, the one criteria that can never be predicted and it may even be the most important, is the effect judicial office and its attendant power will have on the individual office bearer. Accordingly you need to accept the reality that now Federal Magistrate Cloak has charge of this matter, he can do pretty much whatever he likes with it and in my experience, that is precisely what some judicial officers do.
“Cloak FM has a reputation of being an interventionist judicial officer and my knowledge of and friendship with him is no guarantee that any bee he may get in his bonnet about your case is able to be controlled by us, if he determines that a particular result ought occur in this case. Some people seek to justify or at least rationalise that behaviour with the explanation that it is behaviour that seeks to encourage people to settle their matters, rather than have judges decide them in Court. I offer no opinion on that theory. Feel free to make up your own mind in respect of it.”
Daniel continued, “Notwithstanding that you say you have reached agreement with your former husband in respect of the property settlement and the orders you want the Court to make in respect of that property, I expect Cloak FM will tell you that he needs to be satisfied as to the justice and equity of the orders sought by the litigants and that will involve him assessing the material that has being placed before the Court. If he feels that the relevant material provided is not sufficient, then he will not make the orders and will adjourn the matter to allow proper material to be filed and served.
“The material in your case appears to have been prepared entirely by you and in my view may well be seen by the Court as being deficient. That could lead to the orders not being made and an adjournment of the matter to improve that material, as I have just indicated. That will be a judgement call by Cloak FM and we will only know his view on it when he tells it to us. For your sake I will endeavour to convince him that no adjournment is necessary.
“That adjournment may also lead to a costs order, which would probably be made against you, if the adjournment was thought necessary by the Court and once again that will be a matter purely in the discretion of the Court. Having said all that, I will do what I can to finalise this matter for you today.”
Court - Day 1
Once the matter came on in Court Cloak FM was not happy with the material filed by Mrs Cudmore, whom he openly observed was a litigant who prepared the documents by herself at the relevant time, even though she had legal representation in the early stages of the matter from a firm who proudly touted that they possessed an accredited specialist in family law on staff.
Cloak FM said, “The material filed by the mother did not satisfy the criteria of justice and equity in property settlement matters, so even though the parties have apparently agreed on a settlement and the orders they sought from the Court, the matter will have to be adjourned, so that the material of the mother could be amended to reach the relevant standard.”
Cloak FM made enquiries of the mother and her preparation for the application, particularly in relation to her legal representation and the assistance and advice that was given to her by her former legal representatives.
Cloak FM: “I am inclined to order the costs of the adjournment be paid by the former solicitors of the mother, particularly as they were apparently accredited family law specialists. Those costs would not only be the costs of the of the adjournment of the mother, but also the costs of the father.”
“I make Orders requiring the attendance of those solicitors to the Court on the next occasion this matter is before me and will hear them on the issue of costs. It is unlikely that I will be persuaded against making the foreshadowed costs orders. The quantum of those orders would be significant. I expect, perhaps $12,000.”
Court - Day 2
When the matter again came before Cloak FM he was satisfied the material of the mother now met the requisite standard and the consent Orders sought by the parties were made by the Court, without further delay.
His Honour then said, “In terms of the costs issue, I take the view that the solicitors who had previously acted for Mrs Cudmore, the mother, did not properly discharge their professional duty in advising the mother in relation to this property settlement, nor did they take proper instructions from the mother to properly prepare and advance her property settlement matter. Accordingly the employed solicitor handling the matter and the supervising partner, who was an accredited specialist in family law, would be jointly and severally liable for the costs thrown away as a result of the inadequate preparation of the material of the mother. Those costs would be fixed in the amount of $12,000.”
His Honour continued, in open Court, “I will happily tell all of my colleagues of:
• The standard of preparation undertaken and advice given by this firm;
• The delay that inadequate preparation and advice necessitated; and
• My response to that unsatisfactory professional behaviour.
I will also encourage my colleagues to take a similar approach, should such behaviour present itself in their Courts.”
Outside Court
When the matter was finalised in Court Daniel, Mrs Cudmore and the solicitor adjourned to one of the nearby conference rooms to discuss the proceedings and the impact upon Mrs Cudmore.
Daniel said to Mrs Cudmore and her solicitor, “Ordinarily one might expect to hear a little chatter in the back of a Court when matters such as this are proceeding. However on this occasion there was an unusual, almost deathly, silence and the audience appeared to be captive, as well as more than a little stunned, by the proceedings. Perhaps Mrs Cudmore this might lead to some solicitors actually taking their responsibility to you and those like you more seriously.
“What it means in reality for you is, for all intents and purposes your former solicitors will make a significant financial contribution to your legal costs for these proceedings. I expect that was an outcome that was in no part on their radar when they took on your case and when they were acting for you.”
“It is one thing for a judicial officer to threaten such an Order, it is quite another for them to actually put it into practice. Needless to say it is an Order and an approach I endorse wholeheartedly. I expect your current solicitor will receive correspondence from your previous solicitors in the near future in relation to that costs Order.”
“If either of you have any trouble in relation to that costs Order, please do not hesitate to contact me and we can discuss whatever problems might arise. Other than that and the logistics of implementing the Orders that were just made by the Court, this matter is finalised. If neither of you have any other questions, then we are all free to go.”
The solicitor said he had no questions and was happy with the outcome.
Mrs Cudmore said, “I have no questions and I am happy with the outcome. I am also very happy that I got you two as my legal representatives because I realised that after everything that had gone on, I was well out of my depth. There was no way I could not have done justice to my case on my own.”
Daniel said, “Well then I think I will return to Chambers. Thank you both for the brief and I wish you both well.”
Daniel then walked alone back to his Chambers.
Friday, 21 November 2014
The Second Opinion
Daniel Soames was in his Chambers when he received a telephone call from a woman whose business provides him with some of his office supplies.
Brenda said, “I am involved in some litigation where I am seeking a little short of $6,000 and I would like a second opinion as to whether the case was viable.”
Daniel said, “I will happily look at the matter for you. Can you provide me with all the relevant material from that litigation.”
Brenda said, “That will be no trouble. I will courier the material to you this afternoon.”
When the material arrived it took Daniel just under an hour to read and come to terms with it. Once he had done so he had a chat with a colleague in Chambers as to what he made of the facts as told to him by Daniel. Both barristers agreed that the litigation was in two (2) parts and the legal proceedings drawn by the solicitors were defective in not making the dichotomy in respect of those two (2) parts to the litigation. The trial was listed to proceed in about two and a half (2 ½) weeks time and the small amount of money the subject of litigation meant it was really not commercially viable to redraw those legal proceedings. In pragmatic terms, it was really best to just proceed with the matter in its current form and endeavour to perhaps make an application to correct any errors at the trial.
Armed with that appreciation of the case Daniel telephoned Brenda.
Daniel: “I have read the material and believe I understand the issues involved in the litigation. In my view it would be prudent for you and your solicitor to attend my Chambers and have a conference with me to discuss the litigation in some detail.
Brenda replied, “I agree. I will contact the solicitor to see if that conference could be arranged and occur by the end of the week.”
Daniel: “I am happy to leave you to make those arrangements. I expect I will hear from you shortly.”
Within half an hour Brenda had again telephoned Daniel to tell him that the conference could occur at his Chambers in two days time at 3:00 pm, subject to his availability.
Daniel said, “Those arrangements suited me fine and I will note my calendar accordingly.”
Conference
Brenda and her solicitor arrived at the Chambers of Daniel shortly before 3:00 pm and the conference proceeded without delay.
Daniel said, “As I understand the matter, the litigation was effectively in two (2) parts, the major part for just over $5000 and the minor part for just over $500. There was then also the issue of costs. The matter had already endured an application for summary judgement by Brenda, which was unsuccessful. It seems me that a significant consideration for the Court during that application for summary judgement was the way the Court documents had been drafted. In articulating the claim of Brenda the documents did not make the dichotomy between the two (2) parts to her claim.
“On the material supplied to me, it seems that the Defendant really had no defence to the major part of the claim and the only reason she ought not be successful was that the Court was not minded to give her the justice she sought. The lesser amount of the litigation was less certain in terms of the ability of Brenda to obtain judgement in her favour. There were certainly some arguments the Defendant could raise in response to her claim and they may well be found to be valid. Nevertheless the Court documents being drafted the way they were, it appeared that the defence of the Defendant in respect of that lesser claim may well be a defence to the entire claim, so no summary judgement could be awarded at that time.”
“There were good reasons to think that the trial on the larger amount would largely mirror what Daniel expected would have been discussed during the summary judgement application, because nothing had really changed in that regard and the real question continued to be whether the Court was minded to give judgement in respect of Brenda.”
“Interestingly the part of the litigation over which the controversy would be the greatest was the lesser amount and it hardly seemed worth spending the money it was likely to cost in pursuing such a small amount.”
Daniel asked, “Brenda, how much have you spent on the litigation thus far?”
Brenda replied, “Including the cost of the present conference, $3,000.00.”
Daniel: “If the matter were to proceed to trial, you could expect to spend that much again and, for the reasons that have already been outlined, there is no guarantee you would be successful. The outcome in those circumstances may very well be you would spend $6,000.00, effectively speculating on being awarded a judgement in the sum of $6,000.00 by the Court. Does that seem to make any commercial sense to you?”
Brenda: “No, it did not”.
Daniel noticed that during this conversation the solicitor was sitting and listening, but not actively participating in the conversation. There was very little he could say to change the course of the conference and the conversation, Daniel thought. It was his inept drafting that put billable hours and his ego ahead of the interests of the client and that led to the situation that was now confronting this litigation and therefore Brenda.
Daniel continued, “In the circumstances, Brenda, now might be a good time for you to consider cutting your losses in respect of this litigation and endeavouring to move on with your life. Perhaps through your solicitors you might contact the Defendant and offer to settle the litigation by discontinuing it and each side being responsible for their own costs incurred thus far?”
Brenda said, “That advice makes sense. It is an approach I will to seriously consider.”
The solicitor spoke for the first time, also agreeing there was some sense to adopting that approach.
Spotlight On The Solicitor
Having arrived at that position Daniel thought how lucky Brenda was to have contacted him and asked him to provide a second opinion on her litigation, an opinion different to and independent from the advice she was getting from her solicitors. Daniel also thought it was typical of so many solicitors to have taken the best part of $3,000 in legal fees from the client in respect of some litigation, hardly advanced her case at all, perhaps even hurt it, and want the client to continue to retain them and fund that obviously ineptly prosecuted litigation.
Given his good business relationship with Brenda, it was taking Daniel some effort to not make his feelings in that regard public, but rather keep them to himself. However several times during the conference he looked at and thought of the solicitor and said to himself, you are not entitled to any fees in respect of this, because your work has hampered it, rather than helped it.
Brenda then said she needed to go to the toilet and she asked for directions as to the location of the ladies toilets.
Daniel gave her those directions and the conference was adjourned to accommodate Brenda.
Whilst she was attending to nature there was no conversation about the litigation between Daniel and the solicitor. There was some general conversation about their respective practices other than that litigation and that conversation merely served to confirm the view Daniel had of the solicitor, his ability and his contribution to this case.
Conference Resumed
Upon her return to the conference Brenda said, “I have considered your advice about trying to settle the litigation by discontinuing it and each side bearing their own costs. Seems now is an appropriate time to cut my losses and move on with my life, so that is the approach I wish to take in respect of this litigation.”
Daniel suggested that the solicitor then write formally to the Defendant and make an offer of settlement in those terms. Both Brenda and the solicitor were happy with that approach. There was then some discussion as to what might be the contents of that letter, notes of which were taken by the solicitor, and at the conclusion of that discussion the conference ended.
Brenda and the solicitor then returned to their respective places of work.
Three Days Later
Three (3) days later Daniel received a telephone call from Brenda about the conference and the litigation. She was a very happy woman.
Brenda said, “I have been contacted by the solicitors, both on the telephone and in writing, informing me that a settlement had been reached with the Defendant in the terms we proposed.”
“Plus I have more good news. When the letter from my solicitors arrived informing me of the settlement I was also pleasantly surprised to read that, as the matter had proceeded in the way it did, the firm felt it was not appropriate to charge their normal fees for the work they had done in respect of this matter, but rather a fee of $500.00 would be all they would seek from me. They enclosed a cheque for the balance of the money I had paid to them up to that point, less the cost of the fees for you, Daniel, for the conference.”
“I was very happy to have involved you in the matter, Daniel. Thank you for all your assistance.”
Daniel said, “It was no trouble, a pleasure in fact. I am happy you got an outcome to her satisfaction.”
After the telephone conversation with Brenda was over Daniel reflected upon her situation. He was happy for both her and himself that he was apparently able to assist the solicitors in arriving at the correct decision in respect of Brenda and her litigation. He did not expect to get any further work from that firm of solicitors, although stranger things have been known to happen in the law. At least he was able to put his mind skills to good use on this occasion and for a very deserving recipient.
Lunch with Morris
Shortly after telephone conversation ended Daniel saw one of his Chambers colleagues Morris and shared with him the developments in relation to the Brenda litigation. Both of them were happy with the outcome. They took their glee with them as they had lunch together discussing the Brenda case at some length, as well as a few other tasty morsels they found amusing.
During that lunch Daniel noticed Derek, the solicitor colleague with whom he had a conversation a few days earlier, walked past and say hello to him. What was surprising was that Derek then came over to him.
Derek said briefly, “I have a matter I would like to discuss with you with a view to briefing you in it. Are you available for me to come and see you about it this afternoon?”
A more than a little surprised Daniel said “Yes, I am available all afternoon. Is 2:00 pm convenient for you?”
Derek said “Yes, it was”.
Daniel said “I will see you my Chambers at 2:00 pm”.
Derek then left Daniel and Morris to their lunch and went on his way.
Daniel then said to Morris, “Who can understand the reasons that motivate a solicitor to brief a barrister?”.
Morris said “The sun will stop rising in the East and setting in the West before that enlightenment arrives.”
They then continued their lunch and after about half an hour returned to Chambers.
Friday, 7 November 2014
Look at Me
Monday
Daniel Soames was in Chambers Monday morning pondering which of the variety of matters on his desk would receive his immediate attention and therefore determine how he would commence his working week. At about 9:25 am that decision was largely made for him when he received a telephone call from Derek Winthrop, solicitor.
Winthrop said, “Mr Soames you may be aware of the new laws that were recently introduced in relation to clothing. More specifically that if a male was seen to be wearing his cap sideways or backwards, he faced immediate imprisonment of a month. A similar sentence would be imposed for males who were dressed such that their underwear was showing. Further if the male in question had both of those conditions, the punishment would be six (6) months imprisonment. If he challenged the offences in Court and lost, he would face two (2) years imprisonment.”
Winthrop continued, “I have been approached by a young man who was charged with the combined offences of:
(a) Wearing a cap backwards; and
(b) Wearing exposed underwear in public.
He wants to challenge the matter in Court and accordingly wants a bail application made in respect of him. I hold considerable funds in trust to cover the fees of both of us for the bail application and the substantive Court challenge. I have given him little substantive advice in relation to his position. In essence I have said he would be best placed me to consult you and then we can talk further with him as to his prospects. Is this something that interests you and are you available to take it on?”
Daniel said, “Mr Winthrop once again you have opened your bag of interesting and shared with me some of its relevant delights. Yes, I am interested in the case of the dreaded backwards-cap wearing, underwear-flashing hooligan. Sometimes I think it is great that we get paid to do this stuff. I am also available to take on this matter, in fact you can enjoy my immediate attention. Perhaps before we proceed to Court in any fashion for this chap, we should have a conference with him at the jail, with a view to obtaining very careful, specific, signed instructions from him that he understands precisely what it is he is risking in challenging these charges. What has the Crown got in terms of evidence against this chap?”
Winthrop offered, “Mr Soames, perhaps it would be easier if I bring my file to you this afternoon, at say 2:00 pm, and we can have a more detailed conference about what we have, what we need and how we should approach this particular matter?”
“Excellent suggestion, Mr Winthrop, I will see you here at 2:00 pm.”
Just before 2:00 pm Derek Winthrop attended the Chambers of Daniel Soames and their conference commenced without delay. As Soames was perusing the material Winthrop had provided to him, Winthrop said to Soames, “Provisionally I propose that we have a conference with the client at the jail tomorrow afternoon, Tuesday.”
Soames replied, “That is a good idea, particularly because we should probably try to get this matter listed for the bail application on Thursday or Friday of this week.”
Crown Case
Soames continued, “I see that the Crown case consists of:
• Statements from two (2) uniformed police officers who followed the Accused for three (3) blocks in the Brisbane City precinct (along Adelaide Street, from Edward Street to George Street).
• Closed circuit television of the Accused for several blocks clearly showing him with his cap on backwards and his trousers worn so low his underwear was clearly and significantly visible.
• A report of the Public Transport Travel Card of the Accused showing that he was at Central Train Station at the time the surveillance video of him commenced.
“It looks to be a pretty strong case in the circumstances, Mr Winthrop. Are you aware of the basis upon which our client wishes to challenge this prosecution?”
Winthrop replied, “I get the impression his defence is based on how apparently unfair of all this is in his life. Accordingly the conference at the jail tomorrow should be very useful all-round. I will have a draft of the instructions I understand we need with me, so we can deal with that aspect of this matter tomorrow as well.”
“Excellent Mr Winthrop. We will leave from here at 1:00 pm tomorrow.”
“Yes, Mr Soames, I will see you then.”
Tuesday - Conference at The Jail
Soames commenced the conference immediately. “Mr DeShaun, Mr Winthrop tells me you wish to challenge the Crown case in respect of the two (2) charges you are facing?”
“That is correct”, Stransky DeShaun replied.
Soames outlined the Crown case to Stransky and then said to him, “As I see it, the Crown Case is strong and almost certain to result in your conviction on both counts. On what basis do you wish to challenge this prosecution?”
“Prosecuting me and sending me to jail for what I may have done is unfair”, Mr DeShaun responded.
“We are unlikely to be successful running an ‘Unfair’ defence, Mr DeShaun. I notice you want an application for bail made, as well. We could use the bail application to test the Crown case, but you are unlikely to enjoy any success with it. Especially as you have no evidence to provide to the Court to improve your position.”
“Do you have anything to add, Mr Winthrop?”, Soames asked.
“I agree with your assessment, Mr Soames”, replied Winthrop.
“Bearing in mind our advice, what do you want to do, Mr DeShaun?”, Soames enquired.
“I want to go ahead with a bail application”, Stransky DeShaun said, confidently.
Winthrop then said, “Mr DeShaun, I have prepared some written instructions that whilst bail is unlikely to be granted to you in your circumstances, you wish to proceed with a bail application. It will enable you to test the Crown case and the attitude of the prosecution and the Court to your situation. Please read those instructions and sign them, if you agree with them.”
DeShaun read the instructions prepared by Mr Winthrop and then signed those instructions.
“There is not much more we can do here, Mr DeShaun. We will chat with you again after the bail application”, said Soames and the conference ended.
Bail Application
The Judge wasted no time in the bail application. She spoke politely to Soames, but it was clear she was in no mood to spend any more time on the case than was absolutely necessary.
“Mr Soames, as I understand the facts and circumstances of the case:
• The Case is unlikely to get any better for the Accused.
• The evidence against him is overwhelming.
• His substantive case seems to lack anything remotely like merit.
• It is hard to understand why he would unnecessarily risk a certain two (2) year jail sentence being imposed upon him, rather than the six (6) months jail sentence he is currently facing.”
“Have I missed anything?, Mr Soames”, the Judge asked.
“Nothing relevant, Your Honour”, Soames responded.
“Mr Soames, given the consequences that flow from a bail application being refused and given the extreme unlikelihood that this application will be successful, might I suggest you consider withdrawing this application and re-agitating it, only if your client is able to provide something more substantial in terms of its merits. I understand he may have wished to test the attitude of the Crown and the Court in relation to his prosecution. That has occurred today and the news is not good for him. Would you like to confer with your solicitor?”
“Thank you, Your Honour. If I may have some time to confer with my solicitor?”
“Certainly, Mr Soames. Madam Prosecutor, it seems we will not be hearing from you today.”
“Yes, Mr Soames.”
“Thank you, Your Honour. I have conferred with my solicitor. If the bail application could be adjourned to the Registry to a date to be fixed?”
“That seems a sensible approach, Mr Soames. The Order of the Court is that the bail application be adjourned to the Registry to a date to be fixed. Thank you for your appearances and your assistance Madam Prosecutor and Mr Soames. You are both excused.”
“Thank you, Your Honour”, they replied in unison and then promptly left the Court.
“Our client has his answer, Mr Soames and the news is all bad.”
“He is unlikely to be happy with that news either, Mr Winthrop.”
Post-Bail Application Conference
“The bail application did not go well, Mr DeShaun. However the Judge was not entirely unkind to you. She enabled your bail application to be adjourned to the Registry to a date to be fixed, thereby preserving your rights, such as they are, and not punishing you by refusing your bail application. Her Honour also clearly set out her view of the case against you and your likelihood of success. She saw no merit in your challenge to the Crown case whatsoever. Clearly the “Unfair” defence would not work with her.”
“What are my options, Mr Soames?”, Mr DeShaun enquired.
“You can withdraw your application to challenge your prosecution on these two offences and accept that you are guilty of them. Ultimately that will save you some aggravation and also some money. It will also save you some time in jail. At the moment you are looking at imprisonment for six (6) months. However if you unsuccessfully challenge the prosecution, the sentence will be two (2) years imprisonment and there are no reasonable prospects of you successfully challenging the prosecution.”
“Despite your reticence to withdraw your application to challenge your prosecution, ultimately you cannot deny wearing your cap backwards or having your underwear exposed, as alleged. You accept that your Public Transport Travel Card history puts you at the train station at the time when the closed circuit television surveillance of you commences. It is hard to see anything remotely like a plausible defence that you can realistically run in this case,” Soames told Mr DeShaun.
“None of that is good news”, Mr DeShaun said in response.
Winthrop added, “The legislation is drafted in such a way that mitigating circumstances effectively do not apply. Once the offence has been proved, the sentence is imposed. It seems to be designed to discourage the commission of the offences and to save time and money in court proceedings. None of which you will find comforting, I expect.”
Mr DeShaun sat silently looking at the table and shaking his head.
Soames told Mr DeShaun, “Your sentence will start from when you were first taken into custody. It will also be a straight sentence, without remissions or parole”.
Winthrop said, “Mr DeShaun, If you wish to withdraw your application to challenge your prosecution for these offences, I have prepared draft instructions for you. Please read them and, if you agree with them, sign them.”
“Seems I really do not have any other option. Losing the challenge application adds eighteen (18) months jail to my sentence”, Mr DeShaun said forlornly.
He then read and signed the instructions prepared by Winthrop.
I will formally notify the Crown and the Court of your instructions to withdraw your application to challenge your prosecution for these offences.
Soames added, “Your formal sentencing for these offences will be listed shortly and I expect the proceedings will last no more than fifteen (15) minutes. You will be arraigned, you will enter your plea of guilty and you will be sentenced to six (6) months imprisonment, commencing from the time you were taken into custody.
Returning To The City
As they made their way back to the city from the jail, Winthrop said to Soames, “Clients like Mr DeShaun would do themselves a significant service if they bothered to think before they acted, if they considered that their actions may have consequences they do not like.”
“Quite so, Mr Winthrop. But unless and until such enlightenment occurs to them, they will continue to contribute to criminal jurisprudence.”
Monday, 3 November 2014
A Dish Best Served Cold
Tuesday
Another day at the office, another story from Gwendolyn Jasper about the challenges of living with Thaddeus Jasper and their food allergies. This time about the rigours of labelling food in the pantry and refrigerator. Peanuts and soy seem easy enough to avoid, she said, but add that to her need for gluten free bread and eating can be a complicated exercise. They have both reached 40 years of age and both learned to manage it successfully, together and individually. However, it can be draining on them, she said. And it remained the case that there was some food Thaddeus Jasper ate that Gwendolyn Jasper did not.
Tales of the diet complexities of Thaddeus Jasper and Gwendolyn Jasper were of little interest to Garlick Elderberry. However he knew as a 19 year old probationer, directly supervised by Gwendolyn Jasper, it was in his interests not to upset her, as his probation was shortly to come to an end and her input would be significant as to whether he would become a permanent staff member.
He was always diplomatic whenever the topic of Gwendolyn Jasper was discussed with his work colleague, Tiffany Blackbriar, even though Tiffany made it clear she knew Gwendolyn Jasper did not like Elderberry. Tiffany had said several times there was no work-based reason for Gwendolyn Jasper to dislike Elderberry. Tiffany also knew not to make her feelings known in the office or amongst other work colleagues.
Thursday
It came as a great surprise to Tiffany Blackbriar to arrive at work on Thursday and learn that Garlick Elderberry was no longer employed there. Gwendolyn Jasper had ended his probation and terminated his services. Whilst there was discussion about it amongst some of the other staff, no one complained to Gwendolyn Jasper about her decision. No one seemed to be showing any real support for Garlick Elderberry.
Tiffany Blackbriar was privately furious about the injustice that had be occasioned to Garlick Elderberry and it took great restraint from her to not express her feelings publicly in any way. Later that evening Tiffany Blackbriar telephoned Garlick Elderberry and said both how sorry she was for him losing his job and how angry she was about the way it happened.
Tiffany enquired, “Are you going to take any action in relation to your dismissal? It is obvious the only reason Gwendolyn Jasper ended your probation and your employment was because she did not like you.”
Garlick replied, “Thank you for your concern and support. I am very upset about what happened. But I have decided not to take any action about my dismissal. Rather I will try to put it behind me and seek work elsewhere.”
“I understand and respect your decision, so I will not push the matter any further. If you ever want to talk about it, feel free to call me”, said Tiffany.
Garlick thanked Tiffany again for her kindness and support and with that, the telephone conversation essentially ended.
Five Months Later
At about 10:30 am Tiffany Blackbriar was asked to see the big boss. When she got to his office he said to her, “Gwendolyn Jasper is having another one of her significant migraines. Can you drive her home, please. I have written her address on this paper. Here are the keys to my car.”
Tiffany looked at the address and realised that Gwendolyn Jasper lived near a colourful chemist she knew.
“Yes, certainly”, Tiffany replied.
There was no conversation between the two women during the journey from the office to the home of Gwendolyn Jasper.
Home of Gwendolyn Jasper
Tiffany thought this was a golden opportunity to exact revenge upon Gwendolyn Jasper for ending the employment of Garlick Elderberry. From all the stories Gwendolyn Jasper told at work, Tiffany knew about the food allergies of Thaddeus and Gwendolyn Jasper.
Her plan was to put poison of some sort in some of the food in the house, which Gwendolyn Jasper would ultimately provide to Thaddeus Jasper and slowly kill him. Because Tiffany was an apparently insignificant person in the life of Gwendolyn Jasper, no one would suspect anything untoward in respect of her. The act of Tiffany driving her home the day of the migraine would seem an innocuous event and not one to be subsequently remembered.
Once Gwendolyn Jasper was home and laying down in her bed, Tiffany said she would drive to the chemist to get Panadol type drugs for Gwendolyn, in case they were needed. Gwendolyn did not object.
Tiffany immediately drove to the shopping centre nearby, where Hieronymus Treadstone, the colourful chemist she knew, worked. She then went to see Hieronymus Treadstone.
She waited a few moments until she could get him alone and then asked him for some arsenic.
“Why do you want arsenic?”, Treadstone enquired.
“It is best you do not know,” Blackbriar replied.
“OK then. Wait here.”
About three (3) minutes later, Hieronymus Treadstone returned. “Here is your Arsenic. I hope you know what you are doing.”
“Time will tell”, Blackbriar said, as she paid Treadstone and then left the store.
She then walked a few hundred metres to another chemist and bought Panadol for Gwendolyn Jasper, as she said she would. Blackbriar promptly returned to the home of Jasper.
Gwendolyn told the office many times that Thaddeus Jasper only drank coffee and she only drank tea, so putting some of the arsenic in the container storing the ground coffee was an easy option for Tiffany Blackbriar. The labeling of the food in the pantry and the refrigerator made the arsenic distribution job easier for Tiffany.
The Prosecution
Subsequently Thaddeus Jasper died and Gwendolyn Jasper was charged with his murder.
Daniel Soames was in his Chambers and he took a telephone call from Derek Winthrop.
Winthrop said, “Mr Soames, if you are available, I have a matter I believe may interest you? A wife has been charged with the murder of her husband. The death occurred by way of poisoning, according to the prosecution case. The wife vehemently protests her innocence and claims she has been framed. At this stage, no independent evidence supports the contention of the wife in that regard.”
“That sounds very interesting, Mr Winthrop. I am most definitely available. How do you propose to proceed?”, Soames replied.
“The first court appearance is scheduled in four (4) days time. I will send you a brief containing what material I have thus far and I will update the brief as more evidence comes to hand. You may wish to have a short conference the day before the court appearance.”
“A sensible approach, as always, Mr Winthrop. We can chat further when the material arrives and I have read it” Soames said.
“Thank you, Mr Soames. I will be in touch with you again shortly”, said Mr Winthrop and the conversation ended.
Later that day a brief from Winthrop arrived for Soames. It contained no real surprises, as Winthrop indicated. Soames then telephoned Winthrop, “Conference in my Chambers Wednesday 3:00 pm?”
“Thank you Mr Soames. I will make the necessary arrangements”, Winthrop replied.
Wednesday
Winthrop was on time for the 3:00 pm conference.
“This lady is in some trouble, Mr Winthrop”, Soames said.
“That was my view too, Mr Soames”, Winthrop replied.
“Mr Winthrop, Can she point to any evidence to support her contention that she was framed?”
“None that I have been so far able to identify or locate, Mr Soames.”
“She will need that evidence if she is to entertain any prospects of being acquitted of this charge.”
“Yes and the future looks pretty grim in that regard.”
“We will have a chat with her before Court tomorrow. Perhaps she will be able to shed some light on to this problem, Mr Winthrop.”
“I will meet you here at 8:30 am tomorrow, Mr Soames, and then we can go off to court.”
The conference ended and Mr Winthrop returned to his office.
Thursday
8:30 am Thursday arrived and Winthrop and Soames were together again. This time it was off to the Magistrates Court to confer with and then appear for Gwendolyn Jasper. After enduring the rigours of court and holding cells security, Winthrop and Soames were able to speak with Gwendolyn Jasper.
Soames commenced, “Good morning Mrs Jasper. Mr Winthrop has provided me with all the material he has to hand so far on your matter. We have had discussions about the evidence and your attitude to it.”
“What are my chances of getting bail?”, Gwendolyn Jasper enquired.
Soames responded, “Not very good at this stage. We expect that The Crown will provide us with more evidence closer to the committal hearing. On the small amount of evidence provided to us so far, the case against you looks reasonably strong.”
Soames continued, “Today will be largely administrative and will set the date for the committal hearing, which is when Tthe Crown will present its evidence against you to determine whether you have a case to answer. If a bail application were to be made today and we were not successful, it would be much more difficult to successfully apply for bail in the future, unless your circumstances have significantly changed. We do not recommend making a bail application today. We recommend waiting until all of the evidence has been provided to us and we have conferred with you in respect of it.”
Gwendolyn took a few moments to reply. “It seems the best approach at the moment is to wait until closer to the committal hearing to make a bail application. Whilst that is not very comforting for me now, I understand why that is the better approach.”
The conference with Gwendolyn Jasper, Mr Winthrop and Soames then ended and Derek and Daniel made their way to the court room where the matter was being heard.
The court appearance took less than five (5) minutes from start to finish. The committal date was set, no application for bail was made on behalf of Gwendolyn Jasper and she was remanded in custody to appear again at her committal hearing. At the end of the court appearance, Soames and Winthrop returned to their respective offices.
Committal Hearing Preparation
When the evidence against Gwendolyn Jasper for the committal hearing arrived, it confirmed all the fears of Derek Winthrop. The Crown case appeared solid, perhaps even strong, and there was nothing to indicate that Gwendolyn Jasper had been framed in any way. It seemed a simple case of a spouse poisoning a spouse over time by putting arsenic in their food.
Winthrop telephoned Soames and told him of the news in relation to the evidence. “I will attend the jail and obtain the instructions of our client. I doubt she will be happy with the news I have for her.”
Soames replied, “Those conferences are always difficult.”
“Indeed they are. When I have our committal hearing instructions, I will provide an updated brief to you.”
A few days later, Winthrop rang Soames, “Mr Soames the committal hearing brief of Gwendolyn Jasper is available for you. I thought I might deliver it to you and we have a chat about it. I can be there in about forty (40) minutes, if that is convenient?”
“Thank you, Mr Winthrop. That will be convenient”, Soames replied.
When Winthrop arrived he told Soames, “There is no good news for our client in this brief of evidence from The Crown. Further we have nothing to support the claim of the client that she was framed for this offence. I think you can see how this is going to play out.”
Soames replied, “Thank you, Mr Winthrop. Looking through this brief quickly, there certainly seems to be no comforting evidence for our client. Add in an unsupported ‘I was framed’ claim and you have a recipe for disaster for our client. You and I have been in roughly similar situations previously, Mr. Winthrop. They are generally unpleasant experiences and I suspect this one will be no different.”
“I was thinking along the same lines Mr Soames and our client getting bail seems a highly unlikely prospect.”
“Completing the bad news feast, Mr Winthrop. So, a conference with the client on the morning of the committal hearing?”
“Yes, Mr Soames and hope that cross-examination improves what appear to be barren prospects for our client.”
Committal Hearing
Soames opened the conference with Gwendolyn Jasper on the morning of the committal hearing bluntly, “The news we have for you is unlikely to be comforting. There are no surprises in the evidence produced by The Crown. Their case appears strong and nothing appears to support your contention of being framed. The prospects of you being committed for trial are very high and it is most unlikely cross-examination will reveal anything to change that outcome. There also appears to be no reasonable prospects of you successfully applying for bail.”
“That is not good news”, Gwendolyn Jasper replied.
“No, and at this stage, it is not going to get any better at trial”, Soames continued.
“Time for us to make our way to court, Mr Soames”, Winthrop added.
“We will see you in Court, Mrs Jasper”, said Soames, ending the conference.
Outside court, after the committal hearing was over, Winthrop said, “That went as well as could be expected, Mr Soames. Unless some evidence appears to support the contention that our client was framed, she is more than likely going to be convicted of murder. The prospect of her giving evidence and claiming ‘I was framed’ is not one that provides me with any joy.”
“An accurate assessment, Mr Winthrop”, Soames replied.
“I will contact you when I have our trial instructions, Mr Soames, and I will then provide you with an updated brief.”
“Thank you, Mr Winthrop. I will return to my Chambers.”
“And I will return to my office, Mr Soames.”
The Trial
In conference with Gwendolyn Jasper, Soames continued his blunt assessment of the case against her and her prospects of success. “There is no evidence to support your contention you were framed for this offence. Giving evidence exposes you to cross-examination on all the issues and provides The Crown with an opportunity to reinforce its case, whilst seemingly destroying any credibility you might have, because of the lack of evidence supporting your claim of being framed. The alternative of challenging The Crown to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and suggesting someone else might have committed the offence, without you giving evidence, has a higher prospect of success in my view. But it is still not likely to impress the jury sufficiently to acquit you of the murder charge. Criminal jurisprudence is littered with unusual verdicts. Perhaps one will come your way.”
After taking some time to consider the advice, Mrs Jasper said she did not wish to give evidence at her trial. She preferred the option where the Crown case was challenged and the suggestion made that someone other than her committed the subject offence.
Diligent as always, Winthrop recorded those instructions and had Gwendolyn Jasper sign them.
After the trial Winthrop and Soames went to a café near the Court. They had something to eat and drink and reflected upon the case.
“Who knows if Mrs Jasper was telling the truth, Mr Soames? The Crown case appeared to make sense and nothing supported the contentions of our client. Twelve (12) good men and true, some of them women, found her guilty, after a trial that seemed to be fair and run properly.”
“Hard to argue with your assessment, Mr Winthrop. Mrs Jasper will now endure the rigours of being convicted of murder. We can endeavour to pursue an appeal against conviction for her, but I see no realistic prospects of success on that front.”
“Tomorrow is another day and who knows what it might bring. I prefer not to think too much about it at this juncture and just try to enjoy this meal with you, Mr Winthrop. Call it one of my ways of coping with what it is we do.”
“I am with you, Mr Soames. I will worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. Now I am happy to do no more than enjoy this meal with you.”
Lunch with Soames
On the day of the hearing of the appeal Daniel Soames had a pleasant and uncontroversial lunch with Tiffany Blackbriar.
Soames asked Tiffany, “How are your parents, I have not seen them for some months?”
Tiffany replied, “They are well Daniel. They both asked me to say hello to you today for them. Have you had any interesting court cases recently?”
Daniel replied, telling her about Gwendolyn Jasper and how her appeal against conviction for murder of her husband roughly four (4) years ago was dismissed earlier that morning, so she now faced life imprisonment. That meant at least 15 years in jail before she could be considered for parole.
Tiffany gave no indication to Soames that she had any knowledge of the matter involving Gwendolyn Jasper. She did her best to appear to be listening to his story, as she had done many times in the past.
The lunch ended without incident and they parted company, happy to catch up again sometime soon. In reality that means months for these two, rather than days or weeks.
As she walked back to her work Tiffany Blackbriar felt very happy. She had managed to take away from Gwendolyn Jasper the one person in the world she really loved, apart from herself of course, that is her husband, and in the process frame Gwendolyn for his murder. She realised that she had got away with his murder and that even someone as clever as Soames was not able to discover the real cause of the subject death. Tiffany thought in all the circumstances that was an appropriate outcome for Gwendolyn Jasper, after causing Garlick Elderberry to lose his job for no good reason.
Tiffany decided she would not tell Garlick Elderberry of her contribution to what had happened. They had had no contact for some considerable time and she was not going to make any attempt to contact him now.
Another day at the office, another story from Gwendolyn Jasper about the challenges of living with Thaddeus Jasper and their food allergies. This time about the rigours of labelling food in the pantry and refrigerator. Peanuts and soy seem easy enough to avoid, she said, but add that to her need for gluten free bread and eating can be a complicated exercise. They have both reached 40 years of age and both learned to manage it successfully, together and individually. However, it can be draining on them, she said. And it remained the case that there was some food Thaddeus Jasper ate that Gwendolyn Jasper did not.
Tales of the diet complexities of Thaddeus Jasper and Gwendolyn Jasper were of little interest to Garlick Elderberry. However he knew as a 19 year old probationer, directly supervised by Gwendolyn Jasper, it was in his interests not to upset her, as his probation was shortly to come to an end and her input would be significant as to whether he would become a permanent staff member.
He was always diplomatic whenever the topic of Gwendolyn Jasper was discussed with his work colleague, Tiffany Blackbriar, even though Tiffany made it clear she knew Gwendolyn Jasper did not like Elderberry. Tiffany had said several times there was no work-based reason for Gwendolyn Jasper to dislike Elderberry. Tiffany also knew not to make her feelings known in the office or amongst other work colleagues.
Thursday
It came as a great surprise to Tiffany Blackbriar to arrive at work on Thursday and learn that Garlick Elderberry was no longer employed there. Gwendolyn Jasper had ended his probation and terminated his services. Whilst there was discussion about it amongst some of the other staff, no one complained to Gwendolyn Jasper about her decision. No one seemed to be showing any real support for Garlick Elderberry.
Tiffany Blackbriar was privately furious about the injustice that had be occasioned to Garlick Elderberry and it took great restraint from her to not express her feelings publicly in any way. Later that evening Tiffany Blackbriar telephoned Garlick Elderberry and said both how sorry she was for him losing his job and how angry she was about the way it happened.
Tiffany enquired, “Are you going to take any action in relation to your dismissal? It is obvious the only reason Gwendolyn Jasper ended your probation and your employment was because she did not like you.”
Garlick replied, “Thank you for your concern and support. I am very upset about what happened. But I have decided not to take any action about my dismissal. Rather I will try to put it behind me and seek work elsewhere.”
“I understand and respect your decision, so I will not push the matter any further. If you ever want to talk about it, feel free to call me”, said Tiffany.
Garlick thanked Tiffany again for her kindness and support and with that, the telephone conversation essentially ended.
Five Months Later
At about 10:30 am Tiffany Blackbriar was asked to see the big boss. When she got to his office he said to her, “Gwendolyn Jasper is having another one of her significant migraines. Can you drive her home, please. I have written her address on this paper. Here are the keys to my car.”
Tiffany looked at the address and realised that Gwendolyn Jasper lived near a colourful chemist she knew.
“Yes, certainly”, Tiffany replied.
There was no conversation between the two women during the journey from the office to the home of Gwendolyn Jasper.
Home of Gwendolyn Jasper
Tiffany thought this was a golden opportunity to exact revenge upon Gwendolyn Jasper for ending the employment of Garlick Elderberry. From all the stories Gwendolyn Jasper told at work, Tiffany knew about the food allergies of Thaddeus and Gwendolyn Jasper.
Her plan was to put poison of some sort in some of the food in the house, which Gwendolyn Jasper would ultimately provide to Thaddeus Jasper and slowly kill him. Because Tiffany was an apparently insignificant person in the life of Gwendolyn Jasper, no one would suspect anything untoward in respect of her. The act of Tiffany driving her home the day of the migraine would seem an innocuous event and not one to be subsequently remembered.
Once Gwendolyn Jasper was home and laying down in her bed, Tiffany said she would drive to the chemist to get Panadol type drugs for Gwendolyn, in case they were needed. Gwendolyn did not object.
Tiffany immediately drove to the shopping centre nearby, where Hieronymus Treadstone, the colourful chemist she knew, worked. She then went to see Hieronymus Treadstone.
She waited a few moments until she could get him alone and then asked him for some arsenic.
“Why do you want arsenic?”, Treadstone enquired.
“It is best you do not know,” Blackbriar replied.
“OK then. Wait here.”
About three (3) minutes later, Hieronymus Treadstone returned. “Here is your Arsenic. I hope you know what you are doing.”
“Time will tell”, Blackbriar said, as she paid Treadstone and then left the store.
She then walked a few hundred metres to another chemist and bought Panadol for Gwendolyn Jasper, as she said she would. Blackbriar promptly returned to the home of Jasper.
Gwendolyn told the office many times that Thaddeus Jasper only drank coffee and she only drank tea, so putting some of the arsenic in the container storing the ground coffee was an easy option for Tiffany Blackbriar. The labeling of the food in the pantry and the refrigerator made the arsenic distribution job easier for Tiffany.
The Prosecution
Subsequently Thaddeus Jasper died and Gwendolyn Jasper was charged with his murder.
Daniel Soames was in his Chambers and he took a telephone call from Derek Winthrop.
Winthrop said, “Mr Soames, if you are available, I have a matter I believe may interest you? A wife has been charged with the murder of her husband. The death occurred by way of poisoning, according to the prosecution case. The wife vehemently protests her innocence and claims she has been framed. At this stage, no independent evidence supports the contention of the wife in that regard.”
“That sounds very interesting, Mr Winthrop. I am most definitely available. How do you propose to proceed?”, Soames replied.
“The first court appearance is scheduled in four (4) days time. I will send you a brief containing what material I have thus far and I will update the brief as more evidence comes to hand. You may wish to have a short conference the day before the court appearance.”
“A sensible approach, as always, Mr Winthrop. We can chat further when the material arrives and I have read it” Soames said.
“Thank you, Mr Soames. I will be in touch with you again shortly”, said Mr Winthrop and the conversation ended.
Later that day a brief from Winthrop arrived for Soames. It contained no real surprises, as Winthrop indicated. Soames then telephoned Winthrop, “Conference in my Chambers Wednesday 3:00 pm?”
“Thank you Mr Soames. I will make the necessary arrangements”, Winthrop replied.
Wednesday
Winthrop was on time for the 3:00 pm conference.
“This lady is in some trouble, Mr Winthrop”, Soames said.
“That was my view too, Mr Soames”, Winthrop replied.
“Mr Winthrop, Can she point to any evidence to support her contention that she was framed?”
“None that I have been so far able to identify or locate, Mr Soames.”
“She will need that evidence if she is to entertain any prospects of being acquitted of this charge.”
“Yes and the future looks pretty grim in that regard.”
“We will have a chat with her before Court tomorrow. Perhaps she will be able to shed some light on to this problem, Mr Winthrop.”
“I will meet you here at 8:30 am tomorrow, Mr Soames, and then we can go off to court.”
The conference ended and Mr Winthrop returned to his office.
Thursday
8:30 am Thursday arrived and Winthrop and Soames were together again. This time it was off to the Magistrates Court to confer with and then appear for Gwendolyn Jasper. After enduring the rigours of court and holding cells security, Winthrop and Soames were able to speak with Gwendolyn Jasper.
Soames commenced, “Good morning Mrs Jasper. Mr Winthrop has provided me with all the material he has to hand so far on your matter. We have had discussions about the evidence and your attitude to it.”
“What are my chances of getting bail?”, Gwendolyn Jasper enquired.
Soames responded, “Not very good at this stage. We expect that The Crown will provide us with more evidence closer to the committal hearing. On the small amount of evidence provided to us so far, the case against you looks reasonably strong.”
Soames continued, “Today will be largely administrative and will set the date for the committal hearing, which is when Tthe Crown will present its evidence against you to determine whether you have a case to answer. If a bail application were to be made today and we were not successful, it would be much more difficult to successfully apply for bail in the future, unless your circumstances have significantly changed. We do not recommend making a bail application today. We recommend waiting until all of the evidence has been provided to us and we have conferred with you in respect of it.”
Gwendolyn took a few moments to reply. “It seems the best approach at the moment is to wait until closer to the committal hearing to make a bail application. Whilst that is not very comforting for me now, I understand why that is the better approach.”
The conference with Gwendolyn Jasper, Mr Winthrop and Soames then ended and Derek and Daniel made their way to the court room where the matter was being heard.
The court appearance took less than five (5) minutes from start to finish. The committal date was set, no application for bail was made on behalf of Gwendolyn Jasper and she was remanded in custody to appear again at her committal hearing. At the end of the court appearance, Soames and Winthrop returned to their respective offices.
Committal Hearing Preparation
When the evidence against Gwendolyn Jasper for the committal hearing arrived, it confirmed all the fears of Derek Winthrop. The Crown case appeared solid, perhaps even strong, and there was nothing to indicate that Gwendolyn Jasper had been framed in any way. It seemed a simple case of a spouse poisoning a spouse over time by putting arsenic in their food.
Winthrop telephoned Soames and told him of the news in relation to the evidence. “I will attend the jail and obtain the instructions of our client. I doubt she will be happy with the news I have for her.”
Soames replied, “Those conferences are always difficult.”
“Indeed they are. When I have our committal hearing instructions, I will provide an updated brief to you.”
A few days later, Winthrop rang Soames, “Mr Soames the committal hearing brief of Gwendolyn Jasper is available for you. I thought I might deliver it to you and we have a chat about it. I can be there in about forty (40) minutes, if that is convenient?”
“Thank you, Mr Winthrop. That will be convenient”, Soames replied.
When Winthrop arrived he told Soames, “There is no good news for our client in this brief of evidence from The Crown. Further we have nothing to support the claim of the client that she was framed for this offence. I think you can see how this is going to play out.”
Soames replied, “Thank you, Mr Winthrop. Looking through this brief quickly, there certainly seems to be no comforting evidence for our client. Add in an unsupported ‘I was framed’ claim and you have a recipe for disaster for our client. You and I have been in roughly similar situations previously, Mr. Winthrop. They are generally unpleasant experiences and I suspect this one will be no different.”
“I was thinking along the same lines Mr Soames and our client getting bail seems a highly unlikely prospect.”
“Completing the bad news feast, Mr Winthrop. So, a conference with the client on the morning of the committal hearing?”
“Yes, Mr Soames and hope that cross-examination improves what appear to be barren prospects for our client.”
Committal Hearing
Soames opened the conference with Gwendolyn Jasper on the morning of the committal hearing bluntly, “The news we have for you is unlikely to be comforting. There are no surprises in the evidence produced by The Crown. Their case appears strong and nothing appears to support your contention of being framed. The prospects of you being committed for trial are very high and it is most unlikely cross-examination will reveal anything to change that outcome. There also appears to be no reasonable prospects of you successfully applying for bail.”
“That is not good news”, Gwendolyn Jasper replied.
“No, and at this stage, it is not going to get any better at trial”, Soames continued.
“Time for us to make our way to court, Mr Soames”, Winthrop added.
“We will see you in Court, Mrs Jasper”, said Soames, ending the conference.
Outside court, after the committal hearing was over, Winthrop said, “That went as well as could be expected, Mr Soames. Unless some evidence appears to support the contention that our client was framed, she is more than likely going to be convicted of murder. The prospect of her giving evidence and claiming ‘I was framed’ is not one that provides me with any joy.”
“An accurate assessment, Mr Winthrop”, Soames replied.
“I will contact you when I have our trial instructions, Mr Soames, and I will then provide you with an updated brief.”
“Thank you, Mr Winthrop. I will return to my Chambers.”
“And I will return to my office, Mr Soames.”
The Trial
In conference with Gwendolyn Jasper, Soames continued his blunt assessment of the case against her and her prospects of success. “There is no evidence to support your contention you were framed for this offence. Giving evidence exposes you to cross-examination on all the issues and provides The Crown with an opportunity to reinforce its case, whilst seemingly destroying any credibility you might have, because of the lack of evidence supporting your claim of being framed. The alternative of challenging The Crown to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and suggesting someone else might have committed the offence, without you giving evidence, has a higher prospect of success in my view. But it is still not likely to impress the jury sufficiently to acquit you of the murder charge. Criminal jurisprudence is littered with unusual verdicts. Perhaps one will come your way.”
After taking some time to consider the advice, Mrs Jasper said she did not wish to give evidence at her trial. She preferred the option where the Crown case was challenged and the suggestion made that someone other than her committed the subject offence.
Diligent as always, Winthrop recorded those instructions and had Gwendolyn Jasper sign them.
After the trial Winthrop and Soames went to a café near the Court. They had something to eat and drink and reflected upon the case.
“Who knows if Mrs Jasper was telling the truth, Mr Soames? The Crown case appeared to make sense and nothing supported the contentions of our client. Twelve (12) good men and true, some of them women, found her guilty, after a trial that seemed to be fair and run properly.”
“Hard to argue with your assessment, Mr Winthrop. Mrs Jasper will now endure the rigours of being convicted of murder. We can endeavour to pursue an appeal against conviction for her, but I see no realistic prospects of success on that front.”
“Tomorrow is another day and who knows what it might bring. I prefer not to think too much about it at this juncture and just try to enjoy this meal with you, Mr Winthrop. Call it one of my ways of coping with what it is we do.”
“I am with you, Mr Soames. I will worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. Now I am happy to do no more than enjoy this meal with you.”
Lunch with Soames
On the day of the hearing of the appeal Daniel Soames had a pleasant and uncontroversial lunch with Tiffany Blackbriar.
Soames asked Tiffany, “How are your parents, I have not seen them for some months?”
Tiffany replied, “They are well Daniel. They both asked me to say hello to you today for them. Have you had any interesting court cases recently?”
Daniel replied, telling her about Gwendolyn Jasper and how her appeal against conviction for murder of her husband roughly four (4) years ago was dismissed earlier that morning, so she now faced life imprisonment. That meant at least 15 years in jail before she could be considered for parole.
Tiffany gave no indication to Soames that she had any knowledge of the matter involving Gwendolyn Jasper. She did her best to appear to be listening to his story, as she had done many times in the past.
The lunch ended without incident and they parted company, happy to catch up again sometime soon. In reality that means months for these two, rather than days or weeks.
As she walked back to her work Tiffany Blackbriar felt very happy. She had managed to take away from Gwendolyn Jasper the one person in the world she really loved, apart from herself of course, that is her husband, and in the process frame Gwendolyn for his murder. She realised that she had got away with his murder and that even someone as clever as Soames was not able to discover the real cause of the subject death. Tiffany thought in all the circumstances that was an appropriate outcome for Gwendolyn Jasper, after causing Garlick Elderberry to lose his job for no good reason.
Tiffany decided she would not tell Garlick Elderberry of her contribution to what had happened. They had had no contact for some considerable time and she was not going to make any attempt to contact him now.
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