Chapter 14 of 27 · 2'47"
The trial of Leonard Vole opens with a formality that hardly hides the stakes. Myers, for the prosecution, calls the facts "simple and, to a point, not in dispute," then needles the defence: "I trust we are not to be deprived of the learned and stimulating presence of Sir Wilfrid?" Everyone is polite; everyone is measuring everyone.
❝ Monologue · 4 lines The Judge Charges the Jury
At the Old Bailey, Leonard Vole is arraigned for the murder of Mrs French and answers "Not guilty." The judge instructs the jury to try the case only on the evidence heard in court. Prosecutor Myers opens for the Crown, notes Sir Wilfrid's absence, and calls Chief Inspector Hearne as his first witness.
On the surface this is pure procedure: pleas, oaths, a list of witnesses. Underneath, the courtroom is already a stage for status. Myers cannot resist a jab at the defence — "I trust we are not to be deprived of the learned and stimulating presence of Sir Wilfrid?" — and the reply is equally smooth: Sir Wilfrid is "slightly incapacitated, but will be in his seat presently." Nobody says what they mean. The prosecution's "simple and, to a point, not in dispute" is a warning as much as a summary: the facts are agreed, so the fight will be over a person. When Vole shouts "That's not true! I didn't do it!" the calm breaks for a second, and then the polite machinery keeps rolling.
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
“You must shut out from your minds everything except what will take place in this court.”
A single command seals the jury off from the world and fixes them on the courtroom.
Formal
“I trust we are not to be deprived of the learned and stimulating presence of Sir Wilfrid?”
Courtesy is the weapon: the polite question quietly mocks the absent rival.
Formal
“The facts in this case are simple and, to a point, not in dispute.”
It calms the jury while the phrase to a point leaves the door open for a fight.
Formal
“That's not true! I didn't do it!”
Two short denials burst through the court's calm and suddenly put a man in the room.
Informal
May it please you, my lord. Members of the jury, I appear in this case with my learned friend, Mr Barton, for the prosecution. And my learned friends Sir Wilfrid Robarts and Mr Brogan-Moore appear for the defence. I trust we are not to be deprived of the learned and stimulating presence of Sir Wilfrid?
Up next · 15take someone by surpriseThe scene: Hearne Testifies About the PrintsHe is described as "slightly incapacitated" and said to be in the building, expected back in his seat shortly. The defence insists he will appear, while Myers uses the absence to needle them.
He is conceding that the basic story — Vole knew Mrs French and stood to gain from her will — is largely agreed, so the trial will turn on who struck the blow, not on the surrounding facts.
Chief Inspector Hearne of Scotland Yard's Criminal Investigation Department, whose police evidence opens the prosecution's case.
It is an old formal address from a barrister to the judge, roughly "My lord." Myers uses it as the standard polite opening when he begins the prosecution's case.
