The Unsuspecting Housewife

by Olivia Charles

  When the day came for the trio to attend Court Simon sat beside Oscar and faced Hetty as the Judge looked at the evidence put forward by the challenging parties and questioned all the details therein, then asked Henrietta informally why she thought the assets were hers. She told the Judge that her opinion of the true ownership was ‘irrelevant in law’ to the CPS and the Judge who asserted that the assets were hers for the purpose of Confiscation. She told him that she was forced to sue both parties or face two years in prison in default of the payment. The County Court judge sighed and hung his head as he acknowledged Hetty’s dilemma but explained that he had to make a judgement based on the facts and not on a Court Assumption. He immediately wrote up an order in favour of the defendants and implored Henrietta to make her peace with both the defendants and the Crown Court Judge. Henrietta had lost all her legal rights to any property and embarrassed herself in front of a kind, impartial and logical man of law.

  September 2012.

  The Crown Court Judge was ready to decide whether to vary Henrietta’s confiscation figure based on the County Court Orders and supplementary information which had been forwarded to his court by her lawyers. The Judge admitted the case had been a protracted and difficult one and said that although he was aware Henrietta had suffered enormously during the previous few years, he also believed that she was a highly intelligent woman who had deliberately sought to undermine his position and his authority by applying her intelligence to learn and go behind the law. He made it clear that he was angered by her actions and felt she was in contempt of his findings and order. He said he did not accept the findings of what he believed to be an ‘inferior’ court and therefore maintained his previous judgement for confiscation of all the assets previously named and valued: The home which she still continued to live in with her son, the tainted gifts of money to her son, the tainted gift of the cheque to Mr Hennessy, the car which Henrietta used and the private number plate ‘H3 TTY’. He acknowledged the accepted payment of her number plate but ordered that she pay over the balance within six months or face two years imprisonment.

  Hetty’s defence barrister was very disappointed by the outcome and asked the solicitor to apply for extra funding from the LSC to enable him to try for a judicial review of the Judge’s order on the grounds that it was perverse for him to expect her to liquidate assets which she had no legal right to.

  Unsurprisingly, just before the Christmas break, Andrew’s written application for a judicial review of the Judge’s order was rejected by the single administrative high court judge. An official letter was sent from the Court to Henrietta’s lawyers who forwarded a copy to her:

  “In the High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division, the application for permission to apply for judicial review of the Judge’s decision is hereby refused as the claim is totally without merit. The purported claim is directed at the jurisdiction of the Crown Court in matters relating to trial on indictment and is therefore not susceptible to judicial review under section 29 of the Senior Courts Act 1981.

  The costs of preparing the Acknowledgement of Service, if so sought, are to be paid by the claimant to the defendant following assessment of the costs to be paid under section 11 of the Access to Justice Act 1999.”

  Henrietta made an appointment to see her solicitor and spoke to her barrister via video conference call from the lawyer’s city office boardroom.

  “Hi Henrietta, can you hear and see me clearly?” The barrister asked cheerfully.

  “Yes thanks but I’m not happy Andrew. I wouldn’t mind so much if I actually was guilty, what can we do now?” She implored the barrister to solve the problem.

  “Do you remember when we first met? You had sacked your previous legal team. I don’t think we need to revisit WHY. Anyway, we were about to go into court and you looked to me and said ‘Andrew, go in there and make history!’ Do you remember?”

  “Yes I do.”

  “Well, there is good news and bad news.”

  “Go on.”

  “The good news is that your case is making legal history and my chambers are inundated with enquiries from other chambers and barristers. The legal world is sitting up and waiting for a ruling on this one. You are famous for fighting back! The bad news is that if you were allowed to vary or vacate the order against you, everyone who is anyone in our business would know about it and that would open up the flood gates to hundreds of claims on the back of new case law. Do you understand that this could potentially cost the nation billions of pounds in claims? The Home Office could not stand to it financially and the judiciary is at pains to maintain its position. I have to report that Max Farnell is delighted that because of you, he has finally been made a QC, as he was asked to defend the Judge against us in Court if the JR had been sanctioned by the Appeal Court.” He sighed as he watched Henrietta slump at the other end of the lens.

  “Great, so I have to suffer whilst QC Farnell trots off to place his order at silk worm and horse hair ‘r us! Andrew, can you go to the prosecution and do some kind of deal for me? If I agree to sign some official secrets form or something, surely they could let me slink off somewhere into obscurity on the understanding that I won’t say anything publicly. Yes?”

  “God, you don’t want much Henrietta! Why would the CPS agree to that? I completely understand where you are coming from but you’ve become a very important pawn in a very big game and as much as I want to win, for both our sakes, we need to be realistic. Let’s continue to work with what we’ve got. Time is of the essence, so I will prepare a skeleton argument to renew our appeal of your Judicial Review to the full court and forward my papers to your lawyer for them to send in. Then I’m away skiing until the New Year.”

  “Have fun and don’t break anything.”

  “That’s the plan. Merry Christmas Henrietta!” Andrew smiled and switched off his camera and the large TV screen went dark. The two women looked at one another.

  “I have made notes and will have them typed up. As soon as I get Andrew’s document I will immediately put the application in to the Royal Courts of Justice via electronic mail. We will be in touch soon, meanwhile try and get some rest and some peace.”

  “I will. Merry Christmas Emma.” Henrietta leaned forward and gave the woman a respectful peck on the cheek and then picked up her coat, bag and umbrella and walked away from the large conference room to get in to the lift and go home.

  March 2013.

  Henrietta continued to correspond with her MP in spite of the negative and very public appraisal of her by DC Wooster. The MP requested a face to face meeting and an explanation of why Terry Newman could not be arrested or charged and he arranged for the appropriate detective and his superior officer to visit his constituent at home. Hetty was nervous and asked her mother to be present at the meeting for moral and emotional support.

  The elegantly and expensively dressed, high ranking officer sat on the sofa and explained that she was the person whose job it was to liaise with the CPS on behalf of the police. She said she had discussed the merits of Henrietta’s complaints with them and it had been agreed that as there were no witnesses to the abuse, there was nothing that could be done. Grandma questioned the success of celebrity cases in the press and asked why her daughter’s allegation had been dropped. Grandma was told that the victims giving evidence against celebrities are seen to be much more credible because they do not have the burden of a criminal conviction for fraud, which Henrietta now had. Grandma indignantly pointed out that the only reason her daughter had a conviction of any kind, was because of Mr Newman.

  The senior officer said she had the benefit of psychological and victim awareness training and had evaluated all the evidence Henrietta had given and believed every word but said the Police and the CPS needed to take an overview and needed to implement a ‘Damage Limitation’ for the possible negligence and dereliction of duty by the initial investigating officer. She said:

  “Mrs Champion, we are here as a mark of respect to you and your MP
who has been very forthright in his request to our Chief. I only wish my team had interviewed you when you first came into the police station, things could have been very different. We are however in an awkward position because if we now try to charge Mr Newman with the offences against you, we would be assisting you to unravel your criminality. The force could not withstand any more negative publicity.”

  “So my daughter is probably innocent but must be labelled a criminal, to suit your cause?”

  “I can’t say that.”

  “What if I was to stand up in court and repeat what you have just told us?”

  “Madam, I would not have come here today and said those things in front of you if I had not known you have a brain tumour and would consequently be rejected by any court as a witness.”

  “How dare you. Get out of this house!”

  “I apologise.” She picked up her large Mulberry handbag and stood up to leave with her accompanying Detective Inspector. “I genuinely wish you well Henrietta but I advise you to drop all claims against Mr Newman and the police force, as it will not serve you. We will see ourselves out.”

  Grandma watched through the window as the two plain clothes police officers drove away in the shiny new Audi and turned to her daughter.

  “I am so sorry I doubted you. I can’t believe what just happened here. What on earth do we pay our taxes for? It is a disgrace.” She burst into tears of anger and pity.

  May 2013.

  Henrietta and her legal team remained hopeful for months until a formal letter bearing the stamp of the Royal Courts of Justice arrived at their offices and a copy was sent to Hetty, the claimant.

  ‘In the High Court of Justice Queens bench division, the case between the claimant Henrietta Champion and the defendant the Judge Percival of Southwark Crown Court:

  Following consideration of the claim filed by the defendant, the Honourable Mrs Justice Peregrine has refused permission for a judicial review. The purported claim is directed at the Crown Court in matters relating to trial on indictment and therefore under section 29(3) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 cannot be susceptible to review. The legal costs of the defence, if sought, are to be paid by the claimant to the defendant under section 11 of the Access to Justice Act 1999. If requested by the defendant, there shall be a hearing to assess the claimant’s ability to pay the defendants costs. By virtue of the CPR (criminal proceedings rule) no 54.12(7) the claimant may not request that the decision to refuse permission for a judicial review be reconsidered at a hearing.” Signed; Justice Peregrine.

  “So now what, are they coming after me for more money for their costs?” asked Hetty.

  “They could but we feel it is more of a show of force and a threat. The CPS has a date for another Committal Hearing next month, to go through the same routine of asking why you can’t pay and threatening the default sentence again.”

  “Can they actually lock me up?”

  “The law says you should only be locked up if you refuse to pay, not if you can’t pay.”

  “But I can’t pay, I’ve got nothing!”

  “The CPS claim that although the assets are not yours, they are not beyond your reach.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means that the CPS believes you could convince Oscar and Mr Hennessey to give over the assets to you, if you tried hard enough, so you can pay the fine. Andrew has to explain to the Magistrates that they are not part of your charge of conspiracy to commit fraud and not party to your confiscation proceedings and then convince the Court that you have been unable to make either of them part with their property. The point is that the CPS and RART don’t care who pays the money, they just want to receive the figure they have stipulated and published. I think they expected Mr Hennessey to sign a cheque as a sort of punishment for helping you and causing them so much protracted legal grief.”

  “I asked him to help me.”

  “That was not helpful to them. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed for Andrew.”

  “Let’s!”

  June 23rd 2013.

  Andrew waited for his client in the seating area of Westminster Magistrates Court.

  “Hi Hetty, I’ve checked the listings and we are in Court 4. Magistrates are on the bench today, let’s hope they understand the stalemate situation, then we go home again.” As he explained his proposed course of action he recognised three people who appeared in the lobby. “What the hell?”

  “What is it Andrew?”

  “I’m certain they are the magistrates from our court. What are they doing? Wait here, I’m going to check.” The barrister went into Court 4 briefly and returned to his client.

  “I don’t know what’s going on but there is no one on the bench, so it must have been them I saw. It looks like they have been dismissed. I’m on my own and have no solicitor of junior with me to act as runner. We will have to see who sits to hear our case and wing it.”

  “That does not sound good Andrew but I don’t understand what we can do.”

  “Neither do I and I’m the barrister, but we are in next and have been called, come on.”

  They walked into court and Henrietta had to be locked in the glass defendants’ box whilst Andrew prepared his notes and a group of barristers chatted casually on the far side of the court. Henrietta watched in fascination and distrust as one of the suited crew walked up the steps behind the bench and took the central seat of judgement of the Court and poured a glass of water. She looked to Andrew for an explanation but he was obviously bemused too. The Court Clerk announced Henrietta’s case and the Stipendiary Judge addressed Henrietta in the dock.

  “Mrs Champion you appear before the court today in breach of an order to pay confiscation. If you refuse to pay the sum demanded today, your term of default imprisonment will be evoked and you will be held on a warrant in custody for the two years stated by the Judge or until you pay.” Then Andrew stood up.

  “If it please the Court, I wish to present evidence which shows that Mrs Champion has done everything she can to realise those assets to please the Court but finds herself inadequate. I have appealed for the sum to be varied and have not met with success, but she should not be imprisoned for being without the means to pay.” Andrew handed documents forward to the clerk who in turn handed them to the Stipendiary Judge who looked at them fleetingly and said:

  “So, Mrs Champion’s friend refuses to confer the ownership of the car she drives and her own son refuses to give over his share of their home?”

  “Evidently Sir, yes.” Andrew made it clear that Hetty was caught between two stools. The Judge released his grip on the copy of the County Court Order which Oscar had sent in, demonstrating his legally registered ownership of the flat and Henrietta stared in amazement as the piece of paper took flight and floated down through the court and landed beneath the Prosecutor’s seat.

  “If that is what Mr Champion wants, then so be it; his mother will be imprisoned.” The Stipendiary Judge did not even turn towards Henrietta as he passed judgement. “Mrs Champion you must now be bound over to serve your default sentence.”

  Henrietta jumped up and banged her fists on the glass.

  “Andrew, do something, stop this, tell him this is wrong!”

  Her barrister made a big display of disgust as he emphasised the folding of his arms under his armpits, as he had been legally disarmed. The Court officer came forward to take Hetty through the side door to the cells.

  Henrietta was shocked and beaten again and sat quietly in the holding cell until Andrew arrived.

  “How did that happen? Is this actually legal?”

  “The process of confiscation and its application in law has been designed meticulously so it can be fought but not beaten. We gave it a good go though, didn’t we?”

  “But it is so wrong and unjust in my case. This is my life! What can we do?”

  “I don’t know if we will be able to go to the European Court of Human Rights. I will have to see if we would be allowed legal aid to do s
o. I’ll come and see you in a few weeks.” Andrew was furious that he had lost such a valuable chance to prove himself to the bar and to his desperate client. He squeezed her hand and left before he swore unprofessionally.

  June 23rd 2013.

  Hetty was forced to repeat and endure the entire nightmare of imprisonment again but was told that this time she would be held on a two year warrant in the Holloway jail until someone paid the sum of her confiscation and the Court allowed her automatic release. Therefore, as she waited for financial help and to be rescued, she could not be transferred nearer her home. Her medical records were sent for from her GP and any medication was dispensed by the prison pharmacy to her accommodation wing. Simon brought her family down to see her yet again and tears were shed once more. Grandma complained about the systematic cruelty and blatant abuse of power against Henrietta and got so worked up and angry that when she returned home she suffered a stroke. She was found by her neighbour as she wandered in the driveway after dark in her nightie, speaking gibberish. An ambulance was called and she was taken into specialist hospital care.

  The Holloway health care department sent for Henrietta and she was seen by a doctor and subsequently interviewed by softly spoken, fragrant smelling women with a big smile and heart, from the mental health team. Henrietta was keen to speak with the woman and filled in lots of strange psychological questionnaires. After six weeks of inane questioning, the head of the mental health team arrived to speak with Henrietta. The gentle woman who had done the interviews, the Professor and Henrietta sat outside in the private courtyard as everyone else was either at work or in educational classes. The cool and superior woman with the no-nonsense hair style and trouser suit spoke: