Woman playing ‘silly games’ angers judge

Magistrates’ Court charged with criminal damage.

Her bizarre behaviour came at the beginning at a busy morning of cases being dealt with by Judge Fanning in court one.

Wilkinson was charged with damaging a wheel clamp worth £25 belonging to a man at an address in Dewsbury on August 16.

But instead of entering a plea Wilkinson, representing herself, demanded to know: “Why are you not wearing a wig or gown? “You’re not a judge, are you?” When Judge Fanning told her that he wasn’t required to wear the attire in a magistrates’ court, she replied: “It doesn’t look like a courtroom. Can you give me your CV please?”

Wilkinson asked Judge Fanning several times for his name – and the spelling of it – and refused to indicate a plea to the charge.

When told that the judge would record a plea of not guilty and list the case for a trial, Wilkinson was not happy.

She questioned if the proceedings were being recorded and quizzed the usher if she was taking a note of the number of “witnesses” in the courtroom.

Wilkinson asked to read out a 30page document,but the request was declined by Judge Fanning, who said he’d had enough of her.

Security officers were drafted into the court as Wilkinson refused to behave and was ordered to leave.

Judge Fanning told her: “You’re disrupting the court and I won’t tolerate it.

“Stop playing silly games and step out of the court or I’ll have you arrested for disrupting proceedings.”

Judge Fanning fixed the trial in her absence on December 6.