Judge condemns teenager's sweet wrapper prosecution
A judge has condemned a "grotesque" waste of taxpayers' money spent on prosecuting teenager Larissa Wilkinson for allowing her 18 month-old niece to drop a sweet wrapper.
By Richard Edwards, Crime Correspondent
Published: 2:06PM BST 19 Jun 2009
Miss Wilkinson, 19, was charged with depositing controlled waste after toddler Lila Henderson dropped a mint wrapper out of her car window as she was driving in Huddersfield, West Yorks.
After three appearances at a magistrates' court, and one at a crown court, Judge Roger Scott stepped in to prevent the case going before a jury at an estimated cost of £10,000.
The judge said: "It's the most inappropriate set of proceedings I've personally ever, ever seen and it's a fantastic waste of community charge payers' money.
"This was a grotesque misuse of the powers of the authorities to proceed on indictment for dropping a sweet wrapper."
Miss Wilkinson, an art student, was prosecuted by Kirklees Council in a case which has taken 15 months to process through the courts.
The judge, who told the defendant to sit in the witness box rather than the dock at Bradford Crown Court, asked prosecutors: "Can you explain to me why this charge was ever brought against this lady - she has dropped a single sweet wrapper?
"Is it controlled waste? I've looked it up and I don't see how you could possibly argue that it was controlled waste.
"I cannot for the life of me see it's appropriate."
After handing Miss Wilkinson a caution, which she accepted, the judge added: "I hope you've enjoyed your day in court.
"Please put a sticker up in your car saying 'no litter please, except in your ashtray'."
Miss Wilkinson, an art student, said that she was surprised and confused to have received a letter from the council about the incident in March last year.
She remembered that Lila had been playing with mint wrappers in her car and "making a bit of a mess" however she did not realise one had flown out of the window.
Speaking outside court after the 15-minute hearing, in which her defence lawyer was not required to speak, Miss Wilkinson said: "I thought the judge was great, he really ripped into the prosecution. He really could not believe what I was doing there.
"I am so pleased he was on my side, I'm very grateful that I didn't have to go through with a trial.
"It did feel odd that I was in a major court that deals with murderers and rapists. It was quite scary and quite crazy really.
"I had previously had three appearances at the magistrates' court and this one appearance at crown before anybody realised how daft it was."...
telegraph.co.uk
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