EX-PUBLICAN Michael Ian Foxman has fired yet another lawyer for failing to follow his instructions and chosen to represent himself in a hearing where he is accused of perverting the course of justice after an alleged sex show.
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Foxman arrived for his hearing at Tamworth Local Court wearing a sling, supported by his elderly mother on Thursday, charged with approaching two potential witnesses in another case before the court in connection to an event at the Imperial Hotel in 2019.
The hearing was part-heard in May, and when it returned to court this week Foxman said he had not been satisfied with his lawyer's cross-examination of two witnesses earlier in the case, because he didn't ask questions Foxman was texting him during proceedings.
"I've had like 10 solicitors and literally every single one of them has acted contrary to my instructions," he told the court.
Foxman asked magistrate Peter Thompson for a mistrial, which was rejected, before indicating to the court he planned to make an application to bring back the two witnesses to grill them further.
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Mr Thompson told Foxman, who sat next to the police prosecutor at the bar table, to respect the court as the hearing proceeded and repeatedly told him to stop "grandstanding" with statements that were not evidence.
"I can't guide you, I can't advise you, my role is to ensure you have a fair hearing," he said.
Foxman made serious allegations against Tamworth police and the court system and claimed he was being "persecuted". He told the hearing he had escalated the matters to the International Criminal Court as a United Nations leader.
"I would not ruin 36 years of my life for a stupid sex show for a bunch of d***heads," he told the court.
The prosecution case is that Foxman intended to pervert the course of justice by approaching two employees of the Imperial Hotel at the time, Louise Eschbach and Christopher Kelly.
Mr Kelly told the hearing back in May that he was emailed a 10-page document by Foxman after the alleged sex show with the expectation he would sign it or face losing his job, if the hotel closed.
I've had like 10 solicitors and literally every single one of them has acted contrary to my instructions.
- Michael Ian Foxman
The now-retired Sergeant Terri Moore took Mr Kelly's police statement in early 2020 and was called as a prosecution witness on Thursday.
She told the court Mr Kelly had come to Tamworth Police Station to make a statement about how he had been treated at the Imperial Hotel.
"He was telling his story and I just typed as he told it," she said.
Foxman asked the witness during cross-examination whether she had called Mr Kelly and asked him to come to the police station.
"No," she replied.
He asked if she had put pressure on Mr Kelly to sign the document and whether it had been pre-written.
"No," she replied to both questions.
Ms Eschbach gave evidence earlier in the hearing that Foxman had asked her to write an affidavit about his connection to the alleged Imperial Hotel sex show, but then claims she was fired when she refused.
The hearing is expected to continue on Friday and Mr Thompson said it appeared the matters were going to take up a disproportionate amount of local court time.
Foxman indicated he would be making an application to bring Ms Eschbach and Mr Kelly back before the court and would make a list of areas he wanted to cover by Friday morning.
"I must say you have some work to do to persuade me," Mr Thompson said.
Foxman told the court he was in the process of engaging another solicitor.
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