Don’t call me dear, judge warns pop star
A FURIOUS judge issued a scathing rebuke to a musician who tried to plead guilty in court via FaceTime.
Goldie, born Clifford Joseph Price, failed to appear at his trial over the beating of a bouncer at Glastonbury.
The 52-year-old, a major figure in the 1 0s rave scene who has appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, was not in the dock yesterday. He told lawyers to explain he was busy in Thailand.
Furious District Judge Lynne Matthews ordered the trial to go ahead without him, and told the court: ‘I am of the view that Mr Price has chosen not to be here today.’
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.’
Goldie and his daughter Chance Price are both accused of assaulting bouncer Dennis Poole at last year’s festival.
Because of Goldie’s guilty plea yesterday, the prosecution chose not to proceed with the case against Chance. The judge ordered Goldie to appear for sentencing in May and said if he did, charges against his daughter would be dropped.