LATEST: Man apologises after swearing at judge in videolink outburst
A BRADFORD judge has criticised hearings held via videolink from prison after being sworn at by an angry defendant.
Mark Rawson, 26, of Bierley Lane, Bradford, was appearing before the Recorder of Bradford, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC, from HMP Leeds when at one point he told him: “Do your f***ing paperwork geezer.”
Rawson is facing charges including causing grievous bodily harm and dangerous driving, and will be brought to court on Thursday to face a possible additional contempt of court offence.
Judge Durham Hall said videolink hearings should be the equivalent of the defendant appearing in the dock, not a “chance for them to appear in their own TV productions”.
He said: “Judges are being repeatedly abused and it is unacceptable. It is undermining the integrity of these proceedings.”
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