The DUP thread

[Armaghtothebone]

She's living rent free in your head mate by the sounds of things

*Not a fan

What a stupid post. If anytime you criticise or comment about a politician, "They are living rent free in your head" you are only showing that you have nothing to offer on the discourse.

Thanks Windmill. What's your thoughts on Carla. Be as detailed as possible please

I gave some detailed thoughts and the reasoning behind them and you replied with a single ( snide) line.
Why don't you give us your thoughts?

[quit yo jibbajabba]

She's a bigot. She posts on fb to gain favour with her crowd and rile up the easy to rile

The fact you go seeking her posts to get annoyed and then come out with your "post by post, tweet by tweet nonsense as if she would somehow be on here reading I found quite amusing. I made a flippant comment (I should have known better than to have engaged on politics on here lol) but do me one thing have a wee look at the length of your post and think is she really deserves that airspace in your head

 

[Ethan Tremblay]

I wouldn't go seeking her posts myself, they just appear on my feed (algorithms etc), I'm the fool for reading them I suppose.

My dislike of her would be she is a throwback to how it was with that lot. She had little humanity and the staunchist of unionists you could see in modern politics.

She wants division.

[weareros]

Her playbook is to be sectarian.
Then when some anonymous twitter handle comments on her appearance (which i don't condone), ties herself to the proverbial martyrs stake looking for sympathy. Therefore best ignored. But did she call out Vance (the Unionist one) or Katie Hopkins appearance attacks on Naomi Long.

[Square Ball]

Jeffrey is appealing his sex offending convictions

BBC News - Former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson  to appeal sex offence convictions
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2046e37ewyo

[quit yo jibbajabba]

Just waiting for him to get off on a technicality now....

[AustinPowers]

Just waiting for him to get off on a technicality now....

.

 The courts didn't  spell his name in Irish, maybe?

Or  left out a fada?

[David McKeown]

Just waiting for him to get off on a technicality now....

Thankfully that doesn't happen

[Milltown Row2]

What selection of jurors at this stage with all the other stuff surfacing would be able to come to any other decision?

[Dougal Maguire]

If he is allowed to appeal is it a full run of the previous trial, putting those girls through the wringer again?

[quit yo jibbajabba]

Just waiting for him to get off on a technicality now....

Thankfully that doesn't happen

Great. What's likely to happen/worst case scenario

David deffo one my top ten fav solicitors 😜

[David McKeown]

What selection of jurors at this stage with all the other stuff surfacing would be able to come to any other decision?

Long way away from worrying about that.

[David McKeown]

If he is allowed to appeal is it a full run of the previous trial, putting those girls through the wringer again?

Possibly two if the reasons for the appeal being reported are accurate

[seafoid]

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/courts/jeffrey-donaldson-lodges-appeal-against-rape-and-sexual-assault-convictions-but-faces-battle-to-overturn-verdicts/a/158884886.html

Ulster Unionist leader Jon Burrows responded to the news of Donaldson's intention to appeal by saying: "This man is an utter disgrace, as is his wife Eleanor. His eventual sentencing should reflect his complete lack of remorse."

A successful appeal would have to be founded on points of law which Donaldson claims mean he didn't get a fair trial.
The judge's decision to run the trial of the facts alongside a criminal trial is likely to form the core of Donaldson's appeal. Even if he was to succeed in quashing all the convictions, Donaldson would not simply walk free.

Instead, he would face a retrial before a new jury. There would be no way to have the case heard by a judge alone, and it would not be possible to move the case outside Northern Ireland.

[David McKeown]

Just waiting for him to get off on a technicality now....

Thankfully that doesn't happen

Great. What's likely to happen/worst case scenario

David deffo one my top ten fav solicitors 😜

I hope I'm 8th.

What happens now is that the defence have lodged a written argument for leave to appeal. That argument will be considered along with the recording or transcript of any relevant part of the trial by a Single High Court Judge. The Judge will consider whether the argument discloses an arguable case with a reasonable prospect of success that the conviction is unsafe.

If the Judge rules they have then an oral hearing will take place before a three Judge panel chaired by either a Lord Justice of Appeal or the Chief Justice. That panel will decide if the conviction was safe. If it was then the appeal will be dismissed. If it was not safe they will quash the conviction. The Crown will then decide whether to seek a retrial. That will be guided to a considerable degree by the reason for the decision and by the views of the complainants.

If leave is refused by the single judge the defence may either abandon the appeal at that stage or can ask the three Judge panel to consider the issue of leave (which if granted will then proceed as above).

Again the test isn't has their been an error of law. The test to be applied is is the conviction unsafe.