Corrupt judge convicts man of having a perfectly legal toy

[1984]

A BEGGAR found sitting outside a bank with a luminous orange toy gun has been found guilty of having an imitation weapon.
Scott Park was arrested by two police officers outside a closed branch of Royal Bank of Scotland in Stirling city centre last June.
Park, 33, who had found the plastic toy near the bank, was initially charged with a breach of the peace.
But prosecutors at Stirling Sheriff Court opted for the more serious charge.
Firearms expert Douglas Mason told the court the toy cost around £3.99. He said the design was similar to that of a Glock P698, but it was around half the size and bright orange.
He said "It is perfectly legal to have one of these."
But Sheriff Derek O'Carroll told Park: "I find on the evidence of the two police officers that the thing they saw had the appearance of being a firearm and I find you guilty".
Sentence on Park, of Sauchie, Clackmannanshire, was deferred. He said later: "How can I be found guilty for having a bright orange toy? It is unbelievable