Rumpole of the Bailey (TV Series) Rumpole and the Miscarriage of Justice (1992) User Reviews

Story with a Subtext

[lucyrfisher · 21 March 2014]

This story concerning the extraction of an apparent false confession must have taken place before police interviews were recorded. This became mandatory following the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.(In 1983 Chief Constable James Anderton said "No machine should be allowed to get in between the suspect and his interrogator. It would break that essential rapport which a detective needs to elicit an admission of guilt legitimately.") The "rotten apple" theory was common at the time - ie, that the police are not corrupt, there are just a few rotten apples. Lord Justice Denning thought that the police should not be attacked even if they were guilty, because it was better for society if people respected them. Guthrie Featherstone manages to get in a few digs at "copper-hating lefties - like the Howard League for Prison Reform". John Mortimer was its President for many years. Rumpole sometimes acted as his mouthpiece, complaining that prisons were more crowded and insanitary than they had been in Victorian times. In this story, Rumpole also sideswipes the idea of human rights, claiming that some people think they should only be applied to a few selected minorities. Rumpole and Mortimer should have known that human rights apply to, well, humans. By this point in the series, Guthrie's flirtations were a tired plot device, but it's fun to see the inner workings of Hilda's bridge club.

Excellent installment.

[Wirefan122 · 10/10 · 21 May 2015]

I tend to like all of the Rumpole installments but this one is one of my favorites. The main story arc involves a criminal who kills a police officer and Guthrie Featherstone is the magistrate who hands out the sentence of life imprisonment. The conviction is overturned in what appears to be a case of a police frame-up. There is much press coverage when the suspect is released. As another reviewer stated, this was before every interview was taped so it probably was fairly easy to do such a thing. Rumpole, of course sees something more at work here, mainly a personal grudge in the ranks of the police being played out. I won't ruin it any more than that but when Gannon is absolved of any wrongdoing (and the suspect I imagine goes back to jail)and is outside the court with Rumpole he comments that now there is NO press coverage. Hmmmmm.

The second/minor story arc involves Guthrie and his boasting about having an affair with Dot, which of course, he did not. Let's just say Rumpole comes to his defense again and proves to Marigold that he only loves her. I must say that Guthrie does appear to be a bit of a boob some/most of the time but Marigold never seems to give him the benefit of the doubt. Granted it's just a TV show but that irks me!

Great episode!

Rumpole and the Miscarriage of Justice

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 14 April 2021]

Pinhead Morgan was involved in a riot that left a policeman dead.

Morgan was sentenced to life for the policeman's murder and Mr Justice Featherstone was the presiding judge. He even makes a comment as to how convinced he was with the evidence regarding Morgan's guilt.

As Rumpole notes, the evidence against Morgan was flimsy. He was just present in the riot.

After Morgan's conviction is overturned. Justice Featherstone is embarrassed and drowns his sorrows by having a night out with clerks of his former chambers. It leads to further embarrassment for him.

On the other hand. Rumpole finds himself defending Det Supt Gannon (Tony Doyle) who has been charged for falsifying Morgan's confession.

Rumpole is sure that Gannon is just a scapegoat and been left hung out to dry.

Obviously a case inspired by the murder of PC Keith Blakelock in 1985.

The timeline seems to be compressed in this episode as Morgan is convicted and then soon set free. In reality these things take years.

The Gannon case was more interesting especially the authenticity of the police interview notes. The lack of interviews being taped which had happened in the Blakelock investigations.

I found that in the later episodes of Rumpole. I remember the original news incidents that inspired the episode. So the balance of main plot and the humorous 'B' plot is slightly jarring.

Also I was aghast that Justice Featherstone would be the judge in Gannon's case when he made a pig's ear of the linked Morgan case.

Incidentally Tony Doyle who plays Gannon went on play an anti corruption officer in Between the Lines which also started in 1992.