Blimey it Must Be Bad.

I've been hit with a sudden urge to tell you all about Campbell V Tormey (1969) as per Ashworth because it has some relevance to Gbago, the ICC, my grandmother, some English law and basically it's a little bit funny.

Way back in 1969 - just after the introduction of drink drive legislation - a man named Ashworth was driving home when he was stopped by a police officer who believed him to be drunk. So drunk in fact that when the police constable suggested that rather then continuing to drive home Mr Ashworth might prefer to accompany him to the police station where they will provide free room and board Mr Ashworth agreed. On arriving at the station Mr Ashworth was shocked to discover that rather rather then sandwiches the police would much prefer him to provide a blood sample to prove just how drunk he was. Obviously Mr Ashworth refused which in itself is an offence. However at his trial Mr Ashworth argued that because it is only an offence to refuse a laboratory specimen once you have been arrested as he had not technically been arrested no crime had been committed. Needless to say the court disagreed and the precedent was sent.

02:00 on 2/1/13.

Edited at around 02:45 on 2/1/13 to add: Yeah probably the important part of that story was that the court found that when Mr Ashworth was told that he could not leave the police station until he provided a laboratory specimen (specifically a blood sample) he should have considered himself to be "under arrest." Likewise when Mr Gbagbo found himself surrounded with men with guns ordering him onto a plane to the Hague he should have realised that he was on his way to the ICC and anything he said would be taken down and at that point considered irrelevant.