Cresswell: invited to court drinks
Magistrates’ court reporter Amanda Cresswell of the Ipswich Evening Star has been gaining something of a reputation for challenging rulings and getting reporting restrictions lifted on cases involving juveniles.
Her most recent triumph, two days before Christmas, was to persuade magistrates to lift a Section 39 Order on a youngster whose mother was jailed for refusing to ensure the 11-year-old went to school.
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Cresswell, who has been on the Star for six years, is now a regular in the court. Often, the Star knows in advance when there is a case featuring a juvenile where magistrates have tried to impose an order, and Cresswell has been able to take a prepared letter from solicitors to the court.
In other cases, such as the latest truancy case, there was no warning, but Cresswell had the presence of mind to stand up and challenge the order as soon as it was made.
Cresswell, who studied law, has now become such a well-known figure in the South East Suffolk magistrates’ court that she was invited along to the court’s annual Christmas drinks party – usually strictly reserved for solicitors and court officials only.
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