Thu, Nov 27, 2003
James Brooklands is charged with the death of a woman and her two children whom he struck with his car. Brooklands was using his mobile phone at the time and didn't have a valid driver's license. His barristers now argue that their client has had a complete mental breakdown and is unable to proceed with his defense. Sitting in the Civil Court, Deed finds himself hearing a case where Jo Mills and and his ex-wife Georgina Channing are the opposing barristers. The case involves a brain tumor patient who is suing her cellphone company. The government is very concerned at the effect this could have on industry and Deed finds himself under great pressure to recuse himself. Deed also finds himself having to deal with a new presiding judge, Monty Everard, with whom he has clashed in the past. Everard, he learns, will be presiding at Jo Mills' disciplinary hearing.
Thu, Feb 10, 2005
The powers that be continue in their efforts to have Judge Deed removed from the bench. All the more so now that he has suggested an inquiry into allegations made at his previous trial that the Home Secretary accepted a bribe from industrialist Sir Timothy Listfield. This is also tied to his current trial where a young couple, the Peacocks, are suing the owners of a nearby waste disposal plant. Mrs. Peacock has previously had a miscarriage and her daughter was born with severe physical deformities which they blame on the pollutants produced by the plant. Charlie Deed learns that both Listfield and the Home Secretary at one time served on the board of directors of a company linked to the case. Deed thinks his time may have come however when the Government refers his case to both Houses of Parliament seeking his impeachment.
Fri, Feb 10, 2006
With Jo's wedding approaching, Deed pleads with her to re-consider. In court he finds himself presiding over a pre-trial hearing where a mother is refusing to allow her daughter to receive the MMR (mumps, measles, rubella) vaccine on the grounds the multiple vaccine is unsafe. It doesn't help that her husband is the principal spokesperson and advocate for child immunization. Appearing before Mrs Justice Morag Hughes, Jo Mills makes an application of habeas corpus on behalf of Rose Hussein who was arrested by the police after she publicly accused the British Army of poisoning innocent Iraqis with weapons made of spent uranium. The government is concerned at the outcomes of both cases and try their best to inhibit Deed's freedom of action and to threaten Hughes with bad publicity over her affair with Hughes.
Thu, Dec 4, 2003
Although Jo Mills has been absolved of any accusations of misconduct, Sir Ian Rochester and some of Deed's fellow judges now decide to marginalize both of them. Mills finds herself being taken off certain prosecutions and is subsequently informed by her head of Chambers that the Prosecution Service may drop her entirely. Deed is pressured into giving up the case of James Brooklands, the businessman who killed two young children and their mother with his car. Judge Everard takes on the case and sentences him to time served. A furious Judge Deed publicly accuses Everard and Rochester of misconduct. In court, Deed presides over the case of Jan Dobbs who has been charged with murdering her husband. Her husband was unstable and he had stopped taking his medication but the question is whether she and her son may have had an altogether different motive.
Thu, Dec 18, 2003
Judge Deed begins hearing the case of Diana Hulsey, the mobile phone user who is suing her service provider for contributing to a brain tumor she has now developed. The CEO of the telecoms firm is outraged that her court action has gone this far and is pressuring the government and especially the Lord Chancellor's Department, to get Judge Deed under control. He also makes it quite clear that if they cannot do so, he is prepared to take matters into his own hands. When judge Deed finds that someone has put child pornography on his laptop computer, he knows who must be responsible but also realizes that it is exactly the kind of reputation-destroying information that could see him put off the Bench.
Thu, Jan 20, 2005
Judge Deed presides over a case of three street gang members who are charged with murdering a rival drug dealer who was starting to sell drugs on their turf. The accused have no respect for the court system, interrupt regularly and refuse to abide by the judge's instructions. When a key witness is killed and members of the jury are threatened, Deed is faced with a dilemma. The government is pushing the concept of trial by judge alone as a means of reducing the cost of the judicial system. All judges, including Deed, are strongly opposed as they see trial by jury as the cornerstone of the British justice system. As such, Deed very much wants to continue the trial with a jury. Jo Mills continues to struggle with the child welfare authorities in her attempts to adopt a former client's now orphaned son, Michael. She gets support from an unexpected quarter.
Thu, Jan 13, 2005
Appearing before Judge Deed, Jo Mills, with Charlie Deed as her junior, defends Terry Rogers who has been on the run for 16 years. He escaped from custody before he could tried and is now a reformed man. Once a crackhead who regularly committed crimes to feed his drugs habit, he is now a reformed man and a respected school teacher. At the center of the defence is the fact that two of the four policemen involved in the case have since been convicted of corrupt practices and served time in jail. In her private life, Jo Mills is still struggling with whether she will adopt Michael Hulsey a former client's now orphaned son. Deed recommends against it but Jo seems determined to proceed.
Thu, Nov 28, 2002
Gary Patterson walks into his local police station and confesses to the recent murder of a young woman. Gary is in his early 20's, but is developmentally disabled and has the mind of a thirteen year-old. He knew the girl quite well and was attracted to her, but his shyness and disability made him feel inadequate. Judge Deed feels the prosecution has a weak case and fumes when he learns that they have withheld evidence from the defence. On another front, Deed decides to investigate rumours that a fellow judge may be corrupt. He enlists his daughter Charlie to undertake some research but he is breaching etiquette by engaging in this type activity and is inviting the wrath of the Lord Chancellors Department and his fellow judges.