Episode 10 - Damaged Goods


‘You see, gravitas and mercy, what else do you need to be a judge?’

Sarah’s ambitions are thwarted when she realises she’s in trouble and Dunbar’s the only man who can help.

When Sarah finds out she’s been accepted onto a course to train as a District Judge, Dunbar is not happy. With Sarah on the bench, the prison population will explode.

Meanwhile Dunbar has to deal with fourteen year old Kenny Walsh, who is about to be placed under an Anti Social Behaviour Order. Kenny’s fascination with slot machines amuses Dunbar, but if Kenny is seen within striking distance of an arcade, he could find himself in serious trouble and his mother without a place to live. However, Dunbar manages to win a reprieve, for now, by agreeing to act as his mentor.

While Sarah celebrates her future career as a judge, Dunbar is called back to the police station. Kenny is in trouble again after getting into a fight with a neighbour. It turns out that Kenny’s not the only person who needs Dunbar’s help that night. Sarah is in the next cell having been arrested for drink driving.

Dunbar assures her that she can get away with this – it’s a classic woman in jeopardy story. After Sarah left the pub, admittedly rather the worse for wear, she jumped into a minicab, the driver of which turned out to be someone she prosecuted (and humiliated) that morning. Recognising her, he decided this was the perfect opportunity to pay her back. Sarah then jumped out of the cab and made her escape to her own car, which she then drove home.

However Dunbar twists it, Sarah will not accept the fact that she had to drive her car. The only thing she can do is plead guilty and forfeit her new career. So the quality that would make her a great judge is the very same thing that stops her ever becoming one.