Give peace a chance, judge orders couple

Daily Mail Reporter

A couple at war with each other were warned by a judge yesterday against 'flying off to lawyers'.

Lord Justice Beldam said it was a 'terrible indictment' of life today that instead of dis­cussing their problems there had been a dash to the courts.

The Appeal Court judge was told that the wife began legal action to have her husband thrown out of their home after he pushed her against a door when she confessed to having an affair with a family friend.

Lord Justice Beldam said: 'Is it not a dreadful indictment of our system that there is this family with three children ... the wife has an affair, which the husband finds it difficult, over a period of three days, to come to terms with ... and there is no question of conciliation and no attempt at conciliation?

'Instead, the parties fly off, get legal aid and come to court, saying: "You get out of the house." 'It is a terrible indictment of the way we live now.

'As these things go, this was not an extraordinary outburst of violence. He took hold of her at one stage and pushed her against a door and there was a red mark on her back.

'If every marriage in which this happened were to terminate just like that, there would be very few marriages left in this country and there are few enough at that.’

The court heard that the couple, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been married for 13 years and had three children, aged nine, seven and five.

But this June, the wife told her husband, a deputy headmaster, that she had a brief affair with one of their friends the previous month.

The husband later admitted having reacted badly to the news over the following days. He pushed his wife across a room on one occasion and gripped her wrists hard enough to leave a mark on another.

On July 1, she fled with the children, staying with a friend before moving into a refuge for a battered women.

Her counsel, Mr. Frank Moat, said: 'She is adamant she will not go back home while her husband is there. She has a genuine fear for her safety.

'I accept the violence is not as great as one usually sees in these sorts of cases, but this is a wife in fear of her husband.'

A fortnight after fleeing, the wife applied to Portsmouth County Court for an order that her husband should leave their home so that she and the children could move back in.

Fighting the application, the husband told the county court that he was 'very remorseful' over what he had done and offered to undertake not to harm or pester his wife and to stay out of their bedroom. But the county court ordered that he should be out of the house by this Friday.

Yesterday, his counsel, Mr. Lee Young, urged the Appeal Court to grant the husband leave to appeal against the ruling.

He said the order was 'draconian' and told Lord Justice Beldam and his colleague Lord Justice Pill that the husband had never been violent before and had vowed not to harm his wife again.

Granting the husband leave to appeal and a stay against the order until it was decided, Lord Justice Beldam said: 'I only hope that in the meantime some attempt at conciliation can be made now the parties have been apart for some time.'

No date for the appeal hearing was set but the court ordered that it should be as soon as possible.

Daily Mail Reporter

Questions

1. Why is the couple not named in the article?

2. Why is the couple before the courts?

3. Describe the role of Lord Justice Beldam, Mr. Frank Moat and Mr. Lee Young.

4. Does Lord Justice Beldam appear sympathetic towards the husband or wife? Explain.

Speaking 4:

Small group discussions:

1. Do you think couples go to court too easily when there are problems in their marriage? Explain.

2. What is your understanding of the term "battered women"? What indications are there that the husband is a violent individual? How would you describe the husband's behaviour?

3. How do you think the couple's situation could be resolved?

4. Do you consider a "brief affair" grounds for divorce? Explain.

Set up mock courts in your classroom. Identify individuals to take the role of legal counsel for the prosecution and the defence. Each counsel may have a team of two or three advisers who help prepare the arguments. A judge in each court hears the arguments and decides the case. Class members not involved in the "court in session" listen to the proceedings and decide which of the courts makes the most convincing arguments.

Writing Individually, take the role of the judge and write your judgment of the case, then compare it with the judgment written by a partner.

Notes and Vocabulary

Note the non-standard construction " ... the wife has an affair, which the husband finds it difficult, over a period of three days, to come to terms with ... " in a quotation from Lord Justice Beldam. This may reflect an inaccurate quote or a change in the speaker's train of thought, which is fairly common in unprepared spoken language.

an indictment: an accusation of wrongdoing; a charge; a complaint

a dash: a rush; a sudden movement with great haste

dreadful: terrible

an affair: a usually secretive (and contrary to accepted morality) sexual relationship

conciliation: peace-making; improved relations

an attempt at: an effort or try to (do something)

an outburst: a fit; a tantrum; a sudden violent expression of emotion

deputy: acting as substitute for another

headmaster: presiding officer of a school; principal; director

to grip: to hold firmly

to flee: to run away; to evade

a refuge for battered women: a safe place for women who have been beaten by their spouse

counsel: a lawyer who pleads cases in court

adamant: stubborn; obstinate; unwilling to yield

remorseful: sorry

to pester: to annoy; to bother; to irritate