Monday, March 5, 2012 -

    Goldsack Must Go.

    Judge Alan Goldsack QC, The Brute Of Sheffield

    The brutal oaf that is Judge Alan Goldsack acted deliberately in defiance of the new Sentencing Council guidelines on Friday when he sent six men to jail for growing cannabis, despite the prosecution accepting that it was for personal use.

    The story is reported with glee by the Daily Mail here.

    Goldsack is an arrogant, misguided, out of control monster.  I have sent the following letter to every national newspaper and the Sheffield local press.

    Sir,

    On Friday, Judge Alan Goldsack, the Recorder of Sheffield, in deliberate defiance of the new Sentencing Council guidelines, sent six men to jail for growing cannabis even though the prosecution accepted that it had been for personal use only.

    He explicitly rejected the new guidelines saying that he preferred guidance from the Appeal Court from early 2011. The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 obligates judges to follow sentencing guidelines.

    Judge Goldsack has been grandstanding on the cannabis issue for some months. Last autumn, he vowed to send anyone growing cannabis to jail whatever the circumstances, even if it was for medicinal use.. He has repeatedly demonstrated a deep seated prejudice, a complete absence of any scientific understanding about cannabis and a preference for an attitude that comes straight out of the pages of the Daily Mail.

    Quite clearly this man is not fit to sit in judgment over anyone else when he defies the due process that has led to the Sentencing Council guidelines. Whilst those sentenced have broken the law, so has Judge Goldsack. He is guilty of unlawful imprisonment exactly as if he had abducted and locked these men up in some madcap personal vendetta. His arrogance is breathtaking. His misconduct is with malice aforethought. His behaviour is what we expect from the judiciary of Iran or Syria. He is an out of control, crazed monster.

    His sentences must be overturned on appeal so he enjoys his “braggadocio” at vast expense to the taxpayer.

    Over and above all of this he has breached his oath to the Queen in which he promised to exercise mercy. His actions are precisely the reverse of justice.

    Peter Reynolds
    Leader
    Cannabis Law Reform

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    Related news:

    1. Sentencing Guidelines Begin To Bite
    2. “Judge Vows To Put Anyone Growing Cannabis Immediately Behind Bars”
    3. Sentencing Council Drug Offences Guidelines
    4. Medicinal Use Of Cannabis Recognised As Mitigation
    • http://www.facebook.com/powerchords09 Kyle Warren Paul Moore

      I wander if he drinks???? he looks like a pub person. 

    • http://twitter.com/a_quiet_man A quiet man

      we need to know how much the appeal and any other costs are on this case, The Daily Mail readership are only interested in how much tax payers money is spent when they find out we could have had a few nurses or kept a hospital ward open or even god forbid locked up some real criminals then they will get angry that lawyers and judges are conspiring to rip off the legal system by charging to do the same job again and again . this is no different than the cowboy builder that charges for a new roof when all you needed was the gutter cleaned

    • Anonymous

      Old twinklescrote was always going to be the acid test of the sentencing guidelines.  It was predictable that he would use the ‘in the public interest’ loophole to continue to fuel his personal vendetta.  The real test will be when these cases come to appeal – providing he doesn’t get to influence the choice of appeal judge – which, as top man, he probably will.  

    • Anonymous

      I am a medicinal cannabis user. When the new sentencing guidelines came out on 27th of Feb 2012 I felt safe for the first time in a very long time. Now that Judge Alan Goldsack has broken the law and illegally imprisoned people, I am terrified.

      I want to complain that I have been terrified by this man’s insane and irrational politically motivated actions and I wish to complain that I am a victim of the criminal act of terrorism, an act in which Judge Alan Goldsack is complicit. 

    • Anonymous

      This must be a terrible shock for you. I know it’s a big ask but can I suggest you write the above to the HASC review (address it to Keith Vaz personally) ?  They need to know the effects self appointed demi gods like goldsack are having on people like yourself. 

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dean-Haveron/100003002968190 Dean Haveron

      This honestly doesn’t shock me, and if he does stay on as a Judge he should at least be suspended or something similar and a firm slap on the wrist, of course the court case should, and will be reopened, for those unfairly sentenced by this so called Judge.

      I think the Government are going to have a problem when they themselves want change. The amount of brain washing and drilling of false information they’ve done into the minds of their taxpayers that if they publicly say Cannabis isn’t that bad after 70-80 odd years of lying about it, everyday people will be pissed and not accept that their Government don’t have their best interests at heart. Not that I have any idea why they would think that in the first place, there’s evidence almost on a daily basis of foul play, selfishness, greed, basically they don’t care unless they feel pressured to do something. A perfect example: The fuel increases that got attention from 38Degrees a bit back, the week following that I got a cheque for £75 through my door for fuel costs. I wouldn’t have got that if it wasn’t for the fuss that was made, or to put it a better way, just to keep people happy enough to not turn against them.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dan-Ford/1450969824 Dan Ford

      Sounds more like a Kangaroo Court than British Justice. It must be appealed.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jack-Herer/100000694248990 Jack Herer

      Top effort Peter Reynolds – go for them and tell them how it is! Brilliant.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Maharg-Smith/831904195 Maharg Smith

       looking with dismay at the sheffield sentencing scandal i was aghast
      to see the arbitary way in which figures about cannabis values are
      introduced into criminal trials….once  accepted that plants are for
      personal use then the value of the plants are
      the price of the seed say £6.00
      pot say                         £1.00
      compost say                  £0.50
      nutrients say                  £1.00
      electricity say                 £10.00
       
      so the value of any plant is under 20 quid so to say a sore back or a
      case of me or similar disease is using tens of thousands of pounds is
      just an economic absurdity…one guy with ten plants was valued at £8000
      POUNDS if the stuff was twenty quid an ounce in the chemists?????  how
      can we prevent these figures from going unchallenged
      graham smith

    • sykesbenson

      Noncey lookin’ ponce!

    • dave

      A JUDGE took pity on a bungling burglar from Dinnington who spent 14 hours hiding in a loft after crashing through a store roof in the middle of the night.

      To avoid capture, forklift driver Mark Roddis climbed back above the shop and made peepholes in the ceiling, so he could observe staff below.
      When he thought staff had left at the end of the day, the 28-year-old dropped down again – only to find himself trapped in a storeroom.
      Sheffield Crown Court heard the gambling addict raided the store to try and stave off his £27,000 debts.
      But Judge Alan Goldsack allowed Roddis to walk free with a suspended jail term saying: “Given the unusual circumstances of these offences, I don’t think there is any benefit to the public in actually sending you to prison.”

    • Christopher

      This judge is an evil and callous man, he is barely fit to qualify as a member of the human race, let alone a judge.

    • Anonymous

      Somebody wrote somewhere that goldsack’s daughter died of a heroin overdose.  Hence his vitriol towards anything deemed drug related.  If this is true then his impartiality must be compromised and he shouldn’t preside over drug related cases imho.  I’ve googled but can’t find any confirmation – anybody else got any info on this? 

    • simonblackledge85

      The persecuted shall be hailed as hero’s and biggots like Mr Goldsack, shall be remembered for their evil and wicked ways. Not for any of the good they may have done but for the wrecking of lives and the persecution of the innocent. But every cloud has a silver lining and this should be seen as a test case, so there is public clarity of the law and then when this fascist has his ruling overturned, we can all cheer and then we can concentrate on campaining to have him removed from office and held to account for his prejudice. 
      I think what im trying to say is that when Mr Goldsack puts his fancy dress on and straightens his wig, he turns into a bit of a diva but he will get his comeuppance. Just remember, we’re winning the war on drugs not uneducated, over powered buracrats… US! We’re winning and we have been for fourty years. As long as there are people who know the truth and are willing to fight for it and as long as there is medicine on the street for the sick, whether it’s legal or not, we ARE winning the war on drugs… Viva la resistance.

    • Anonymous

      No official confirmation is available, apparently..although I’ve stumbled upon another case of his: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2037752/Judge-takes-pity-community-hero-fired-shotgun-scare-thugs-plagued-neighbourhood.html

      Bending the laws a bit seems to be Okey-doke in some instances; do you reckon he’ld look the other way if someone were to fire a shotgun to scare of coppers from cutting down one’s grow? (j/k) 

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Maharg-Smith/831904195 Maharg Smith

      this from the paper today

      Call to limit ‘unnecessary’ prison

      The prison population in England and Wales reached a total of 87,787 on Friday, new figures show

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      Justice

      06 March 2012

      Prison overcrowding is undermining the rehabilitation of prisoners and
      risks increasing reoffending in the future, a report has said.

      The Criminal Justice Alliance, which represents more than 60
      organisations, called for the Government to urgently limit “the
      unnecessary use of prison, ensuring it is reserved for serious,
      persistent and violent offenders for whom no alternative sanction is
      appropriate”.

      It comes after Chief Inspector of Prisons Nick Hardwick said the
      rising pressure on prisons from budget cuts and increasing numbers
      cannot go on indefinitely.

      The prison population in England and Wales hit 87,787 on Friday, less
      than 400 from the all-time high of 88,179 set last December and 98% of
      the usable operational capacity

    • Ian Singleton

      It makes me think that proper change might happen when all these old dinosaurs retire or  expire, and younger judges take over their job how old is this guy lets hope he retires soon!  

    • Anonymous

      That would be just a drop in the bucket; Rather think of it as ‘keeping Your friends close and Your enemies even closer’ (?)
      There are still ‘dinosaurs’ out there with a brain, larger than a peanut – Ron Paul f.e.; Prohibition is a global matter, with the US paving the way, I think.

      I do have a (non-scientific) feeling, that 2012 will be the year, which marks Our progress! Just need to keep fighting the good fight and think three steps ahead..
      We are STRONG because we are UNITED!

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Maharg-Smith/831904195 Maharg Smith

       if these sentences are not amended on appeal then what is the point of
      the sentencing council…is it just a talking shop which rogue judges
      can ignore and cast offenders into a postcode lottery????

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Maharg-Smith/831904195 Maharg Smith

       would it be possible to get a transcript of his comments and to put it on here    newspaper reports are generally unacceptable when holding people ESPECIALLY JUDGESto account

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Maharg-Smith/831904195 Maharg Smith

       how much does a sack of gold cost these days?

      alan goldsack sentenced  6 men to a total of 61 months in prison at a cost of

      £3300 per month (40k per year is the home office figure)                                      £201,300

      6 police raids at a cost of lets say £12000                                                               £72,000

      6 lots of legal aid at say £4000                                                                                  £24,000

      probation reports say £450                                                                                        £2,300

      aftercare when released £1500                                                                                   £9000

      cost of appeals say  £4500                                                                                         £27000

      court costs say  £1200 plus disbursements lol £800                                                £12000

      that makes about a third of a million quid to deal with less than a hundred plants with a real value of less than two grand…..all this to pander to an overpriveledged man incapable of following the simplest of guidelines   not a bad mornings work you may think for goldsack whom i am sure makes no apology that all these laughable proceedings are paid from the public purse

                         

    • http://www.facebook.com/mark.moorhouse1 Mark Moorhouse

      mr goldsack is a bad man and give out big bird he hit me with a 5 and they was not months.he loves giveing out big jail at sheff crown

    • http://www.facebook.com/mark.moorhouse1 Mark Moorhouse

      mr goldsack give me 5years along time a go and i think he know hes got a name for is self at sheff crown.and like to think hes the top man there with giveing out big sentance at sheffield crown court.is senance allway same on the big side.