The following cases were heard at Reading and Slough Magistrates’ Courts: 

February 21

DARREN GRANT, 45, of London Street, Reading, admitted stealing baby clothes worth £212 from House of Fraser on January 17, 2022. Fined £80 and made to pay £119 in court fees. 
MAMADOU DIALLO, 29, of Mayfair Drive, Newbury, admitted speeding on Bath Road, Calcot, on May 26, 2021, going 54 mph on a 40mph road. Fined £150 and made to pay £119 in court fees. Given three points on his licence. 
EMMA WEST, 32, of Ashridge Court, admitted harassment of a woman in Newbury between February 19, 2022 and February 20, 2022 and admitted assaulting a police officer on February 20, 2022. Committed to prison for 35 weeks as offence was aggravated by defendant’s previous record of offending. Made to pay a victim surcharge of £128. 

February 23

VICTORIA MARTIN, 40, of Langham Gardens, Whitchurch-on-Thames, convicted of drink driving in a BMW X5 on Yattendon Road in Frilsham, on October 17, 2020. Caught with 137 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, the limit being 35mcg per 100ml. Community order made. Requirement to take part in up to 200 hours of unpaid work in the next twelve months. Banned from driving for 32 months. Ordered to pay court costs of £870. 

A fundamental principle of justice is that it must be seen to be done. Open justice is acclaimed on a number of grounds: as a safeguard against judicial error, to assist the deterrent function of criminal trials and to permit the revelation of matters of interest.