You in that dress

The jury members were asked to consider several other questions.

Could Ms Masters really have forgotten that she was holding her champagne glass, which smashed into her adversary's head, when seconds earlier she had flung its contents at the silver dress?

The difficulties were compounded by evidence from five highly inconsistent witness accounts.

The most "balanced, reasonable and accurate" witness, according to the prosecution, had consumed only five vodkas and, in her own words, felt "pretty fine".

Life among the ghastlies is so often like this. And it gets worse: "after her acquittal, Ms Masters was overwhelmed with emotion and mistakenly walked back into custody." These are the sort of people who fill Courtenay Place and Ponsonby Road almost every night of the week, the people who keep our hospitality industry thriving and our accident wards full. The likes of Ms Masters are so often overwhelmed with emotion and so rarely overwhelmed with judgement.

Fotunately, she has supporters and a box of tissues.