At today's (25th March 2025) diet of debate in Court 3 of Aberdeen Sheriff Court presided over by Sheriff Johnston, she stated her decision at the end of the hearing but she was speaking too quickly for me to note down what she was saying and I missed most of it, though I did note that she erroneously didn't sustain my objection.
Sheriff Johnston did explain that her decision would be noted in the minutes, the record of the case and that I could ask the sheriff clerk's office for a copy of those case minutes, which I did, later, by email. Even if Sheriff Johnston's decision was completely wrong it is still of interest to me as to what actually she wrote into the case record.
I have to note that I was not impressed by Sheriff Johnston's handling of the debate diet, where she made some rather gross errors in my opinion.
Sheriff Johnston didn't want to hear me speak the word "Paki" whose use is at the heart of this case - the crux of the matter. She seemed to be prejudiced about my use of the word "Paki" in court, even when I made it clear I meant the word as a shortened form to refer to Pakistanis, the Pakistani diaspora or Pakistan as the case may be. The word "Paki" per se seemed to jar with her sensibilities regardless of what I meant by the word.
Her response to my use of the word "Paki" seemed Pavlovian, as if she was behaving in a conditioned manner, conditioned to censor any utterance of the word regardless of the context.
Sheriff Johnston insisted that the facts referred to in my "Minute for the Accused" could not be considered at this stage of the proceedings which didn't seem to mesh with Sheriff Foulis's previous decision to invite me to submit an Application by Minute which, as far as I can see from the legislation, which I can quote even if I am not a lawyer, is supposed to be an application in a form which consists of a statement of facts as well as the other items.
See Act of ACT OF SEDERUNT (SHERIFF COURT ORDINARY CAUSE RULES) 1993 No.1956 (S.223)
SCHEDULE 1, Initiation and progress of causes,
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1993/1956/made
CHAPTER 14 APPLICATIONS BY MINUTE
Form of minute
14.2. A minute to which this Chapter applies shall contain-
(a) a crave;
(b) where appropriate, a condescendence in the form of a statement of facts supporting the crave; and
(c) where appropriate, pleas-in-law.
Although Sheriff Johnston claimed to have read my "Minute for the Accused" before the hearing, she didn't seem to display any understanding or appreciation of my usage of the word "Paki", as detailed in the document and she wouldn't allow me to read through it which would have taken about 45 minutes - apparently much too long for a Sheriff who had already made her mind up after a quick read through on her own, before the hearing.
A prejudiced sheriff and a sheriff who is not interested in the relevant facts of a case is not a good sheriff, in my opinion, sorry, so I don't want Sheriff Johnston to have any more dealings with this case if that is possible?
Today's was a very unsatisfactory hearing which I don't think advanced the cause of justice one iota.
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