Don’t call me dear, judge tells cocky pop star who pleaded guilty... on FaceTime
A FURIOUS judge issued a scathing rebuke to a musician who tried to plead guilty in court via FaceTime.
Goldie, born Clifford Joseph Price, shocked lawyers when he failed to appear at his trial over the beating of a bouncer at last year’s Glastonbury festival.
The 52-year- old, who was a major figure in the 1990s British rave scene, appeared on Strictly Come Dancing and has an MBE, was missing from the dock yesterday. He instructed his legal team to explain he was busy in Thailand.
A furious District Judge Lynne Matthews ordered the trial to go ahead without him, and told the court: ‘Clearly every date so far has been inconvenient for him.
‘I am of the view that Mr Price has chosen not to be here today. It well may be that he has contractual obligations elsewhere, that it would be expensive to get out of. But when people work and have to come to court, it will have financial implications for them. I don’t have a separate rule for people who earn rather more than average.’
Defence solicitor Abigail Bache arranged for Goldie to enter his guilty plea in an email which read: ‘ Yep, guilty as charged.’
But Judge Matthews, sitting in Bristol Magistrates’ Court, demanded to speak to him face-to-face using FaceTime, a video-calling app on Apple iPhones.
Incredibly, the judge then used a solicitor’s smartphone to speak to the musician in Thailand. Asked to confirm his guilty plea, Goldie said: ‘Correct, my dear.’
An irate Judge Matthews then responded: ‘No, I’m not your dear.’ Last year’s fracas erupted when bouncer Dennis Poole daughter backstage Stage at refused the entry area Glastonbury Goldie to of the an exclusive Pyramid and festival. his enclosure The to pair get some had left food. the
Goldie is accused of assaulting Mr Poole in the row. Chance, his 20-year-old daughter, was said to have kicked the security guard as he lay on the ground. Earlier, holding the phone on the magistrate’s bench, Judge Matthews had read a more formal email the musician had sent to his defence team. It said: ‘Dear Judge, I wish to enter a guilty plea to common assault on the basis of the prosecution case against me.’ Prosecutor Richard Posner said it would not be in the public interest to proceed with the case against Goldie’s daughter now that he had pleaded guilty.
Mr Posner said: ‘It is the prosecution’s argument that it was Mr Price’s sustained assault that then led, in part, to Miss Price becoming involved.
‘The Crown are not going to prosecute her for that, as long as the co- defendant is sentenced in May.’
Goldie was then instructed by the judge to attend the court in that month along with his daughter, who was released on unconditional bail.
The judge confirmed the charges against Miss Price
‘I lament the waste of time’
would be dropped if her father attended the May hearing. Concluding yesterday’s case, Judge Matthews said: ‘I lament the waste of two days of court time.’
Goldie’s attempt to plead guilty via a video calling app is thought to be a legal first.
Solicitor-advocate Joy Merriam, a former chairman of the Law Society’s access to justice committee, said: ‘I have never heard of anything like this happening before.
‘Use of video links – most commonly used when defendants appear from prison – is governed by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.
‘There is nothing in there that would permit someone holding up a phone so a defendant can enter a plea via FaceTime.’