The Dursleys; Sirius' "trial"

[Anna Hemmant]

No: HPFGUIDX 47620

Dumbledore
> testified that Sirius was the Potter's Secret Keeper, he was found 
at
> the scene of the crime, and most telling of all, there's no evidence
> whatsoever that Sirius made any attempt to defend himself. > 

> Don't I recall Sirius saying that he never even got a trial?  He 
was sent directly to Azkaban?  I'll try and find the quote in POA and 
get back to you...

Sirius does say, in GoF that he never got a trial, when the three go 
to see him outside Hogsmeade. However, Dumbledore does say at the end 
of PoA that he testified that Sirius had been the Potter's secret 
keeper. These two canon statements wouldn't gel if we didn't look at 
the muggle killings that occurred during Sirius' arrest. The ministry 
of magic may not have believed it would be safe to give Sirius a 
trial while he was present, because this particular event (they would 
have thought) would show that his powers were sufficient to prove a 
security risk. Dumbledore would then have given testimony without 
Sirius present. Another possibility would be that there was a trial 
prior to Sirius' arrest, and it was at this point that Dumbledore 
would have given evidence. Certainly, Sirius wouldn't have had the 
chance to answer the charges against him. 

Orla