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Silence in court! Discuss The Archers and shout from the gallery here. Send him down.

999 replies

PseudoBadger · 07/09/2016 13:27

What day is it again?

OP posts:
JudyCoolibar · 07/09/2016 23:38

Strictly it isn't the prosecuting barrister's job to be aggressive, his function is primarily to present the evidence. That's not to say that plenty of them aren't, of course. I was thinking that if I'd been on the jury I'd have been tempted to pop up and ask that Helen actually be allowed to answer the question rather than just have him ranting away at her and cutting her off half way through her answers.

TopazRocks · 07/09/2016 23:41

Hi, xmas. I am no lawyer but I don't think being a prisoner stops you from having a crime against you tried. I was thinking, too, that maybe the publicity will bring other women forward to say Knob raped them too. That's happened IRL. And we none of us has been told what the Knob was doing in Essex that time.

You are probably right re- the ups and downs of the trial, and the custardy of the boys being the biggie. But the acting is good so I don't mind.

TopazRocks · 07/09/2016 23:44

Interesting, Judy. I'd heard so much in the press about low rates of women (and men) reporting rapes and the adversarial style of 'the other side' making giving evidence so very difficult, that I assumed it was normal behaviour from prosecuting barrister.

BoffinMum · 07/09/2016 23:51

Surely the jury don't come to things like this blind? Some people will surely have awareness of DV issues?

buckingfrolicks · 07/09/2016 23:55

My guess is that Jess will be have been nobbled by knob and the evidence she wants to give will be pro rob

Is that possible? I guess I'm just scared that it's all going to go tits up and rob the escapologist will win again.

Gruach · 08/09/2016 00:05

Yes ... I've only ever seen that aggressive prosecution style on TV.

In RL (in the very few rape trials I've seen) the prosecution have been totally forensic in their questioning. Drilling down to exactly what the victim was thinking, almost minute by minute; the decision making processes of anyone who might have been in her company around the time; exact positions of "alleged" rapist and victim; the precise dishevelment of her clothes; which hand he held her down with; you vomited to the left of his shoulder; how many minutes till you got up? Etc. Truly nasty work.

EBearhug · 08/09/2016 02:42

I do hope Rob loses it in court and shows his true colours. A good chance of it, I reckon, with all these women out to get him - Anna, Kirsty, Helen, and possibly now Jess, and the judge letting them. I can totally imagine him telling the judge he doesn't know how to do his job.

I was out with a friend tonight and we talked about TA and the trial - her first husband was like Rob, but without the charm. (Her evidence got him convicted though.)

Faffbadger · 08/09/2016 02:50

Didn't Knob try to intimidate Jess into not talking to Anna, a few weeks ago?

I hope that comes out when she testifies...

FabFiveFreddie · 08/09/2016 03:14

Marking my place.

Nothing to add that hasn't already been said, other than that I wonder whether Ursula might turn into an interesting Chester now. She's never struck me as truly believing in Rob's apparent superiority. Maybe the rape allegations might prove to be the tipping point for her, away from Bruce...

NelsonsWineBar · 08/09/2016 06:32

Can someone tell me what Rob said to Jess? Don't know how far back to look on Lowfields.

Will re-open Nelson's Wine Bar in gratitude for all my catchy-up questions Grin

LillianGish · 08/09/2016 06:34

I'm hoping the judge admits Jess's evidence and that when the prosecution asks why she's taken this long to come forward she tells the court Knob intimidated her.

LillianGish · 08/09/2016 06:39

He waited for her outside her house and it was along the lines of I know where you live - well he didn't even really need to say it and suddenly after all Jess's strong words to Helen about being glad to be rid of him as soon as he was actually there and behaving in a Knobbish way she was back under his control.

redshoeblueshoe · 08/09/2016 06:42

The best thing about this trial is we don't have to listen to Pip'n'Tobes

BoffinMum · 08/09/2016 07:08

Personally speaking if I was on the jury I would have a very dubious view of Rob by now, especially after the crocodile tears and his hammy protestations from the dock. I have encountered one or two men like that in RL and they are total shits.

BoffinMum · 08/09/2016 07:10

Arsula would back Rob up if he grew horns and a tail, quite frankly. Do you remember how she enabled him right through the whole job conversation? Frankly jaw dropping.

ErrolTheDragon · 08/09/2016 07:12

I guess he gets his manipulative nature from her and his plain bully from Bruce.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 08/09/2016 07:16

I'm afraid I think it's a bit optimistic to assume that Ursula is re-evaluating her marriage or that Bruce will be horrified. I strongly suspect that Rob learnt all his twisted views from them. U has probably been closing her eyes and thinking of England from her wedding night on and I don't imagine Bruce has ever given a moment's thought to the issue of consent, especially within marriage.

It's pretty clear that the Titchener family view is 'Men are strong, forceful, dominant, know better by virtue of that Y chromosome and must always be in charge because they get angry if they aren't - that's just how real men are. Any man who lets his wife tell him what to do is not a real man. Women are weak, silly, need looking after in the sense of having all control over their own lives removed, must always defer to the men because that X chromosome renders them incapable of knowing what's best for them. Women are useful to have around because they are decorative and can be used for sex. If you want to have children, it's an unfortunate necessity to have a woman involved, even though they aren't really trustworthy enough to carry the precious spawn of the Man'.

Extremely depressing, but you only need to look at the Relationships board on here to see that this is not all that uncommon in real life.

NelsonsWineBar · 08/09/2016 07:16

Thanks Lillian

Have some breakfast wine Grin

OhTheRoses · 08/09/2016 07:18

There will be something much darker about the Ursula/Rob relationship. The enabling of the home birth was weird. I wondered at the time if they wanted Helen and the baby to die?

BoffinMum · 08/09/2016 07:27

Yes, someone of Arsula's generation and background would have expected a hospital birth and be anti bf as well, I imagine.

Gumpendorf · 08/09/2016 07:58

Another great episode last night. It's fascinating to realise how we have been conditioned to seeing Rob triumph, so we can't quite believe it's going Helen's way atm with Jess appearing. SOC really has gaslit us.

The prosecution chap really was TV inspired, but Helen believes in her self again which was lovely to hear even if a bit unrealistic

I want to hear Rob and Ursula's reaction now. And Bruce if he is still there.

BertrandRussell · 08/09/2016 08:05

I bet Rob is Ethan's father after all. I think Jess faked the DNA test.

MrsArthurShappey · 08/09/2016 08:15

Was this my imagination? When Rob was being questioned by Anna, Arse was chuntering away about the ludicrous line of questioning but very quickly shut up, possibly with a little 'oh' when he admitted he'd hit Helen.

Binkybix · 08/09/2016 08:19

I had assumed that they wanted a home birth because it kept Helen away from the authorities and therefore more easily within their control?

WannaBe · 08/09/2016 08:23

WRT the prosecution barrister's cross examination of Helen, bear in mind that she is the one on trial here not Rob, and Rob is the victim. So it is down to the prosecution to prove her guilt rather than to question Rob's part in the crime iyswim - that's Anna's job.