Court Out - By Elle Wynne Page 0,18
then went on something of a drinking spree with the members of his team that were still talking to him. He was seen later that evening making a scene in Ghost Bar in town, arguing with anyone who looked at him, clearly ten sheets to the wind.
What happened next is unclear. I remember from the reports that CCTV showed him leaving Ghost, but where he went to was unclear. Hobbs maintains that he went to the home of his team mate, Andre Plushenko where he crashed out until the next day. His official line is that when he was walking home the next morning to clear his head he saw the police outside his residence, panicked due to the underage sex scandal (presuming they were there because of that) and ran off. He didn’t manage to run very far however; the police helicopter got sight of him and dispatched patrol cars to arrest him.
The prosecution take a different view of events: having left Ghost in what can only be described as a foul mood, Hobbs returned home and found his wife surrounded by suitcases, packed to leave him. Hobbs then hit the roof and after subjecting Marina to many punches and kicks, drowned her in their FA Cup shaped pool.
His defence seems to be that that burglars broke into the multi-million pound property expecting both occupants to be out at the usual post match celebrations. On discovering Marina, they attacked and killed her to prevent identification. The suitcases were there as she probably was leaving him; it was to be expected following his reported infidelity.
This will be the third time that his case will be listed for trial. At the first trial the prosecution medical expert collapsed in the witness box with a suspected heart attack. At the second, the jury were ‘hung’; they couldn’t reach either a unanimous or majority decision as to whether to find him guilty or not guilty. It’s pretty much unheard of that the prosecution are allowed to attempt a third re-trial but given the nature of this case, they are trying him one last time.
“That’s fantastic news,” I reply. “A cushy role for you, privately paid I assume?” A noting junior has the job of sitting in court and literally taking a full written note of what is said in court.
“Naturally! They want a full transcript throughout the trial so in the event that an appeal point comes up, they’ll have it straight away. I’m sooo excited! I’m making Ewan take me to PC World later to buy me a new laptop seeing as my old one is pretty nineties looking”
“But it still works right?” I look fondly at my MacBook Air, a present from Sebastian last Christmas. I’ve dropped it twice now, and the right hand side of the screen no longer works, but it still gets the job done. I really should take it into the Apple store to get it fixed, but never seem to find the time.
“Well yes, but I have to look the part!”
“Fair enough, but please don’t bankrupt the man,” I plead, knowing full well that the second Serena sees rows of shiny new laptops she’ll be instantly attracted to the one with the highest spec.
“I can’t wait to work alongside Peter Quinn QC. He’s supposed to be amazing in court!”
“Yeah, and his reputation for his behaviour outside court precedes him too,” I can’t help adding, having heard the whispers about him focusing on his brief fee rather than the evidence against his Defendants. It is common knowledge that Quinn accepts huge retainers from clients wanting his expertise, only to send other members of his Chambers to all of the preliminary hearings, making others do the donkey work before swanning in at the last minute to take over.
“Oh come on Lauren, if you were paid privately to defend murders day in, day out, you’d be pretty financially orientated too,” she replies defensively.
“I know, it just gets my goat sometimes that whilst most silks happily accept legal aid rates and realise the importance of continuity of counsel, he gets away with murder. Can you imagine being accused of something terrible and paying for someone you think is the best, only to be fobbed off until the last minute? Especially at the moment.”
Ask any member of the public what they think of criminal barristers, then it’s pretty much a certainty that the terms ‘fat cat’ ‘rich’ and ‘greedy’ will come up. It would be lovely if it were true, but