A point was made earlier about the days of 'masons in the dock helping each other'being over. Not so. I witnessed a magistrates court hearing where the defendant was a prominent local professional. Court normally opens at 10 am, but this hearing was arranged for 9am at very short notice (i.e. before the local newspaper reporters got there.) The offence was a particularly nasty public sex offence, made worse by the fact that there was a risk of HIV, and the defendant was a surgeon. Coincidentally, I had just read 'Inside the Brotherhood', and watched in fascination as the defendant made a clear masonic distress signal as the charges were read out. Result? A truly bizarre acquittal that left the attending police officer shaking his head in disbelief. True story, no doubt about what went on.
Tim