D L T Re-Indicted

[Peter Pedant]

67 y old Dave Lee Travis has been listed for re-trial over the two allegations that the jury were unable to agree on.

He hopes that it will end by the time he is 80. Some hope

[sunny-dave]

Smacks of vindictiveness (or desperation) by the CPS ... I have no liking for DLT, but this seems wrong.

[tonyav]

http://news.uk.msn.com/uk/prosecutors-want-dlt-retrial-1

[Peter Pedant]

thanks tony - I thought initially I had started a duplicate thread.
Sunnd D you are ON for best answer....

[hc4361]

My initial thought it is a reaction to the negative press about the CPS and the 'witch hunt' since Saville.

[LazyGun]

Has it ever been stated why the jury were unable to reach a verdict on those 2 charges specifically? Was it due to a perceived lack of evidence, or an inability to understand the law/charges?

I would have thought that if was down to a perceived lack of evidence, or the quality of evidence itself was considered very poor, then the CPS are making a mistake in retrying those charges and do open themselves up to accusations of vindictiveness or the desire to be seen to be strong in the face of criticism in the wake of their failure to convict in several of these high profile celebrity cases to date.

[ToraToraTora]

The CPS have been totally incompetant over this and other cases. The guy has been put through the wringer and as yet has not been found guilty of anything. They should just drop it and leave him alone. Clearly they have nothing of any significance evidence wise.

[mikey4444]

I'm only 60 and I too hope its over by the time I am 80 !

[dannyk13]

As I understood it, at the end of DLT's trial the prosecution asked for seven days in which to consider a retrial of the two offences but this request was refused by the judge.

[New Judge]

No it was not, danny, it was granted. Hence today's decision.

"Has it ever been stated why the jury were unable to reach a verdict on those 2 charges specifically? "

You may not know, LG, but juries - unlike magistrates - in the UK are not required to give any explanation for any of their decsions. The CPS can only make assumptions about why they failed to agree a verdict.

I must say I am extremely surprised at this decision. I would have thought that the "public interest" test when deciding to prosecute would have scuppered a re-trial. I think the CPS must be taking lessons from those who arranged votes on EU matters - keep asking until you get the "right" answer.

[dannyk13]

This whole business smacks of a witch hunt.

[hc4361]

Does anyone know for sure exactly what he's being tried for this time?
I believe that one offence is for sliding his hand down a journalist's back and resting it on her bottom, over clothing. She moved immediately and that was the end of it.

[China Doll]

I would also like to know what the allegations are specifically and why; kind of hard to make any kind of judgment without this knowledge I would have thought.

[youngmafbog]

Can't stand the man, but this is now beyond a joke.

[andy-hughes]

It's interesting to note that the two incidents which are leading to a re-trial are the most recent.

It does add credence to the argument that historical cases remain the most difficult in which to secure a conviction.

It will be interesting to see what happens now.

[mikey4444]

If DLT is guilty, then justice clearly needs to be done and it needs to be seen to be done.

But he is being "re-tried" on two counts apparently. As his previous court case was plastered all over the media for weeks, how exactly does the CPS expect to ensure that there is a fair second trial, without all the hoo-haa of the 1st trial affecting it ? What about the Jury at this new trial ? Are we expecting them to be completely unaware of all the publicity surrounding the first trial ? Are expecting them not to know that he has already been tried on the charges they will be expected to deliberate on ?

And if this one doesn't succeed, will they have a 3rd go ? Can we expect this to continue until a Jury comes back with the "right" verdict ?

We all want to see guilty people being brought to justice but is justice really being served here ?

[ChillDoubt]

Even if he were found guilty (which I doubt) there will pretty much be an automatic appeal, one would feel.
This is just further waste of public money and the CPS do appear to be looking desperate.
If he is cleared of the 2 remaining charges, one wonders about the outcome of the similar high profile cases.
The treatment of Freddie Starr is quite shocking i.e. to be arrested and questioned 4 times without charge.
The CPS reputation is battered and this whole affair must surely lead to some sort of overhaul of their practices.

[pixie373]

It's ridiculous and completely unfair on people who are potentially innocent. Surely, if hc is right, it wouldn't have got this far?

[chrissa1]

Is DLT expected to fund his Defence, again. He has already sold his house. Does he get Legal Aid?

[askyourgran]

It seems very wrong to have someone in dock and then bring out another prosecution against them. I quite liked DLT he was cheerful enough and didn't seem creepy like JS.

[douglas9401]

All the prosecutors have to do is spend our taxes until they get the right jury.