Out Of The Mouths Of Babes....

We saw a case of carrying a bladed article a few weeks ago. Most facts were agreed and our job was to decide, on the balance of probabilities, whether the defendant had a reasonable excuse that would amount to a defence. We went out to consider, thinking that the case was pretty finely balanced.
We went through the evidence, and as we were re-reading an interview, one of my colleagues, on her third-ever sitting, spotted a massive inconsistency between the interview and the evidence that our man had just given on oath.
I am not saying that the three of us wouldn't have got there in the end, but one of the strengths of the magistracy is the constant influx of newly trained colleagues who treat every case as a new experience, and with their training fresh in their minds.
Guilty, then.