Bognor Regis Probus Club

The April lunch meeting of the Bognor Regis Probus Club didn’t follow the normal format of a talk after lunch.

Instead, we were led by a magistrate, Nigel Fullbrook, in a case study entitled

‘The verdict is yours’, with role-playing by some club members reading from scripts.

These roles included a presiding magistrate, his two wingers, a legal adviser, the accused, a witness and prosecuting and defending solicitors.

The mock hearing heard a case about a theft in North Street, Chichester, where the accused was charged with being a pickpocket and stealing a wallet. The incident was seen by a witness, who dialled 999 and followed the accused.

Cross questioning took place about the description of the accused, the direction in which he was walking, etc.

The accused said he had found the wallet and was taking it to the police station. In his defence, he said he had phoned a friend to say he would be late because he was taking a wallet to the police station.

The friend agreed he had received the call, but could not remember what it was about.

The accused agreed he had a record of thieving and had served five months in jail, but said he now had a job and girlfriend and would not wish to jeopardise that.

Club members were challenged to decide whether the accused was guilty or not of stealing the wallet and, after some debate, he was found guilty.

It later emerged that the accused was walking the wrong way to be going to the police station.

Members welcomed this change of presentation.

If you are a retired professional or business gentleman who would like to visit the club with a view to possibly joining, please contact Roger Bennett on 01243 849358.

More about our activities can be seen on our website at probusclub.net/ bognorregis.