It would be nice to usher in 2017 with an exciting fresh take on a vibrant, buzzing legal issue of the day. As it is, the first post of the New Year is to be spent – and I fear this will be a recurring theme – reminding an elected Member of Parliament how the law works….
Read moreWere the judges “incompetent f****-ups” to refuse Marine A bail?
There is a risk, I am acutely aware, of this blog appearing to transmogrify into The Secret Judicial Cheerleader. Which it is not. By way of pre-emptive self-defence, I should point out that much of my professional life is spent politely pointing out to judges why, in my respectful submission, the course they are thinking…
Read moreKatie Hopkins and the judiciary: another pointless lie
On the day that Katie Hopkins’ wilful disregard for the truth landed her, and the Daily Mail, in £150,000 worth of piping hot water, it is reassuring to see that she has not been deterred from jumping straight back on her unicorn. After Hopkins viciously libelled a family of Muslims as Al-Qaeda supporters in her…
Read moreExamining Iain Duncan Smith’s understanding of Brexit
Today, in response to an op-ed in the Daily Mail in which Iain “Bit of a thicky” Duncan Smith pushed Hanlon’s Razor to its limit with his “interpretation” of the Supreme Court proceedings, I published a series of tweets. They have proved, contrary to expectation, common sense and decency, to be quite popular, and I have…
Read moreLouise Mensch’s claims that Thomas Mair had an unfair trial are unsupported and wildly dangerous
There’s something particularly undignified about a spiralling Twitter spat. The cumulative ‘quote tweeting’ and punctuated “replies” designed to alert innocent passers by to your often solipsistic, and usually entirely pointless, tit for tat exchanges with someone you’ve never met and have no desire to know. I am guilty of indulging in such indignity this afternoon, after taking umbrage at…
Read moreThe “Walter Mitty” law is misconceived and dangerous in equal measure
Every now and then, as Bonnie Tyler so nearly put it, I fall apart sobbing in giddy astonishment at the folly of our elected representatives. And I need you now, dear reader, and I need you more than ever as the willing sounding board in my echo chamber of lawsplaining. Today’s culprit is Conservative MP…
Read moreLiz Truss is unfit for office and should resign
I didn’t expect to be writing that headline less than five months into Liz Truss’ reign as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. Truthfully, I hoped I would never be writing it at all. Amidst the wails of protest that greeted her appointment, I was one of those urging that we give the new Lord…
Read moreWhy did the government block the SNP’s Alan Turing Bill?
This post was written last Saturday when it was achingly vogue, then lay forlornly unposted over the weekend until staleness set in, by which time it appeared destined to linger forever in my draft folder. Serendipitously, it has been offered a second wind after one of the subjects tweeted me out of the blue, allowing me, I reckon, to segue to…
Read moreAn open letter to Jess Phillips MP and colleagues on Ched Evans
Dear Jess and colleagues I read with interest your letter today to the Attorney General, in which you expressed some concerns about the operation of the law in the Ched Evans case, and made some suggestions as to how the law on using a complainant’s past sexual history might be changed. I hope you don’t mind…
Read moreSome further reflections on the Ched Evans case
The acquittal last week of footballer Ched Evans at his retrial for rape has, if media reports and trigger-happy talking heads are to be believed, set a dangerous new precedent in cases of sexual violence. “A disturbing precedent that could deter women from reporting attacks”, reported the Daily Mail. “A throwback to the 1980s”…
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