SIR - David Rhodes's letter (T&A, January 26) made me smile when he was precise to the second onthe time it had taken him to write his letter on the sentence handed out to an offender, recently.

It reminded me of a time when I had to attend a court in New York to try to get 3,000 dollars owed to the company I worked for.

While waiting to see the judge who was to hear the case, our New York solicitor and I had to wait in an open court where another judge was looking after civil complaints.

The judge asked one complainant the approximate amount owed him by the person he was suing. He replied: "approximately 1,457 dollars and 39 cents sir." The judge said: "I'll take that as the exact amount then, Mr Jones". "No sir only approximate," the man replied.

At which point we left, much more light-hearted, to see our judge who ranted on about wigged English judges and called me a "schmuck" among other things before ruling we were only entitled to half what we were owed. Ah, happier days.

Philip Bird, Nab Wood Terrace, Shipley