1.   But if the judge is persuaded by the Republican assertion, his task will be much more constrained.

2.   But through all his pleas for a new trial, Ray failed to shed any genuine fresh light on the case or to persuade any judge who heard him.

3.   Citing the ESCA affair, opponents persuaded a judge to invalidate the whole contract, a ruling that was later overturned.

4.   Most defendants who go to trial prefer to take their chances with a jury than to try to persuade a judge of their innocence, legal experts said.

5.   The decision did not mean that all such evidence is to be admitted, but that defendants have a right to persuade a judge of its admissibility.

6.   British Petroleum PLC persuaded a judge on Tuesday to order Greenpeace to stop interfering with its oil drilling in the North Atlantic.

7.   But the judge was not persuaded.

8.   Government lawyers had fought to thwart a full judicial review, but failed to persuade the judge.