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"Am I going down?"

Some may remember a tale I told about a barn.

This barn, after a bit of idiocy from my close friend neal. Got burnt to the ground. In brief, my friend was working in a barn. Stacking a selection of broken chip and pin machines. It was a cold day in January and so he decided to start a fire to keep warm. Using my lighter my friend recklessly started a fire on a stack of boxes and then later, upon request, in a bin, away from danger. As the situation wore on my friend moved the bin nearer to him, which I questioned, the fire flicked from the metal bin and hit a stack of boxes. To cut a long story short, the barn burnt to the ground.

1 month later he is arrested, he tells his arresting officer that it was I that started the fire. So I was arrested. I told the truth, as stated above. 4 months down the line we are both charged with Arson.

I appear in court next week.

I am, as some will known, a Cambridge university student, with a small desire to be a teacher. This offense could see my dreams dashed and my prospects ruined. I have no idea what the minimum sentence is (be it imprisonment or community service), nor do I know EXACTLY what I did wrong.

At the moment my "close friend" still insists it was I that was responsible for the fire.

Help???

monkey_man wrote:
> Your ordeal is over now, you can shut up and let the thread sink.
>
> What an anti-climax.

It was only an anti-climax cause i rushed the ending :D.

Seriously the suspense in court was tense, me and neal sitting in the waiting room was horrible, the look on neal's face when my barrister read out a character statement delivered to me by neal's best friend was priceless.

I could say a lot by chose not too.

Good work Dringo.

You probably got off well on the issue - but surely Neal should of been given a heavier sentence then just an extra £500 then you?

It seems like injustice.

What community service have you been allocated anyway?

I find out on thursday. The judge saw who to blame as immaterial.

Dringo wrote:
> I find out on thursday. The judge saw who to blame as immaterial.

Didn't you post earlier in this thread that your lawdude said Prison is a very strong possibility? From A stretch inside to a light fine and community service.

He's not very good is he?

Unless, your were embellishing.

When I first met him he said that it was likely I'd go to prison. He didn't know me, the full circumstances of the case. Prepared me for the worst.

Since then there has been good hope for a community punishment.

Thank God.

Dringo wrote:
> When I first met him he said that it was likely I'd go to prison. He
> didn't know me, the full circumstances of the case.

Is it common for people to take cases without knowing the full circumstances of the case?

He had briefy read it and made a quick comment and left me. After that I wanted to ditch him. But he came good in the end.

Dringo wrote:
> I find out on thursday. The judge saw who to blame as immaterial.

I'll never underdstand how Judge's minds work!

I see you're still trying to add life to the topic.

Well done Dringo, as said below, its better than it could have been. Also, I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but will the university contribute towards court fees or the punishment received or anything like that? Somebody I shared a house with for a year was taken to court (for accidentally trying to use the wrong train ticket, an out of date, used ticket). He was fined a large amount, but the university paid a substantial amount. It may depend on background and the circumstances of the case, plus I imagine this is something you've already discussed or investigated, but if you haven't, its worth a look.