Tardy brothers fall foul of the law

[Nwicker60]

Court won't be inconvenienced warns sheriff

ACCUSED who turn up late for their cases at Wick Sheriff Court, could find themselves in hot water.
Sheriff Andrew Berry commended solicitors for their patient efforts in trying to ensure their clients arrived on time, which he described as "above and beyond the call of duty" but stressed that the responsibility lay with their clients.
His comments came after teenager, Adrian Stubbings entered the public benches almost an hour late, for an interim hearing, having been reminded of his appearance by his solicitor, Fiona MacDonald who phoned him.
Sheriff Berry warned, that his court would not be inconvenienced by accused turning up late and went on:" Solicitors take on far too great a responsibility in their efforts and patience, sending accused text reminders ."
The sheriff added that for Stubbings to simply say he 'forgot', was "nothing other than pathetic" and told the 19-year-old:"The date should be a priority. Consider yourself very fortunate that your bail is being continued."
Stubbings, of 53 Murchison Street, Wick, is due to stand trial with two other accused-they arrived in court, on time - on January 7. All three have denied a serious assault in Murchison Street, Wick, on April 19, last year.
The sheriff went on to demonstrate his tough stance on punctuality by issuing a warrant for the arrest of Stubbings' brother, Morgan, who failed to turn up to answer a charge of threatening behaviour towards his partner, in June. The brothers live at the same address.