First hijab-wearing UK court judge hopes to be ‘trailblazer’ – BBC News
‘A woman who is the first UK deputy district judge to wear a hijab said she hoped to be a “trailblazer”.’
BBC News, 27th May 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: judges
First academic to become Supreme Court judge to be sworn in at closed ceremony next month – Local Government Lawyer
‘The first Justice of the Supreme Court to be appointed direct from academia, Professor Andrew Burrows, will be sworn in at a closed ceremony on 2 June, it has been announced.’
Local Government Lawyer, 19th May 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Judge denies bias in favour of former school friend – Litigation Futures
‘A judge has rejected a recusal application on the grounds of apparent bias, based on him being in the same class at school as the director of a defendant company more than 45 years ago.’
Litigation Futures, 13th May 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Judge explains himself in writing after phone hearing fails – Legal Futures
‘A High Court judge has been forced to issue a detailed judgment in writing because his voice was “breaking up” at the end of a telephone hearing with a litigant in person (LiP) and the law firm suing her for fees.’
Legal Futures, 13th May 2020
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
Judge questions coronavirus case against ‘homeless’ London man – The Guardian
‘A judge has questioned the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision to charge a man who said he was homeless with allegedly breaching coronavirus regulations by leaving “the place where he was living”.’
The Guardian, 12th May 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
High Court judge sends copy of ruling to ministers to express concern over “nationwide problem” of lack of capacity for secure care – Local Government Lawyer
‘A High Court judge has sent ministers a copy of a ruling in which he expressed concern at a “nationwide problem” of the very limited capacity in the children’s social care system for young people with complex needs who need secure care.’
Local Government Lawyer, 29th April 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Judicial heavyweights call for ‘breathing space’ to save dispute resolution system – Law Society’s Gazette
‘International courts and arbitral tribunals need a “breathing space” if they are not to be overwhelmed by a wave of commercial cases due to the pandemic, a group of senior retired judges said today.’
Law Society's Gazette, 27th April 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Coronavirus: Custody fight parents told not to exploit lockdown – BBC News
‘Separated couples exploiting the Covid-19 lockdown to stop an ex-partner from seeing their child could face court action, says a senior judge.’
BBC News, 21st April 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Judge demands “level playing field” on recording medical examinations – Litigation Futures
‘The High Court has insisted that there must be a “level playing field” when it comes to recording medical examinations.’
Litigation Futures, 21st April 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Judges cannot be expected to undertake their full list remotely: senior members of judiciary warn – Local Government Lawyer
‘All judges and leadership judges need to recognise that doing as much as possible remotely “does not mean, and cannot mean, trying to do everything remotely”, there senior members of the judiciary have warned.’
Local Government Lawyer, 15th April 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Remote Justice : A Judge’s perspective – Transparency Project
‘There is no question that remote hearings are a good means of ensuring the continued delivery of the decision-making element of the family justice system. It is amazing that we can do it at all and it is great that we can. But doing so in this way is at the cost of our ability properly to connect to one another, and judges like me are compromised in their ability to conduct hearings with the empathy, fairness, understanding and compassion that is rightly valued as an essential element of the Family Court. I appreciate that in order to deliver justice in the time of Covid-19 we must accept compromise. I wanted to share my experiences however, as there have been times that the extent to which I have felt constrained has been uncomfortable, and I worry about the impact on the parties, and the wider goal of delivering justice fairly. Even though huge progress has and will continue to be made in improving remote hearings, we will be working under the effects of Covid-19 for many months yet to come. I am concerned about the responsibility that will continue to fall on judges for deciding what cases are to be heard or not, and for setting the terms of reference for what constitutes a fair hearing in the time of Covid-19.’
Transparency Project, 7th April 2020
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
Lawyers echo Sumption’s ‘police state’ warning – Law Society’s Gazette
‘Criticism by former Supreme Court justice Lord Sumption of apparent over-reach by police officers enforcing Covid-19 lockdown restrictions appears to have struck a chord in the legal profession.’
Law Society's Gazette, 31st March 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Judicial review: ‘Snarling’ not the way to get reform, says former top judge – BBC News
‘”Shouting and snarling” is not the way to get judges to accept curbs to their powers, a former top judge has warned.’
BBC News, 13th March 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Judge attacks S&G for “wholly unacceptable” failure – Legal Futures
A High Court judge has strongly criticised Slater & Gordon (S&G) for a “wholly unacceptable” failure to give him a crucial letter when applying for an urgent injunction in a police misconduct case.
Legal Futures, 4th March 2020
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
Hammer-wielding trans woman escapes prison after judge hears there was no way to confirm her gender – Daily Telegraph
‘A trans woman who threatened shop staff with a claw hammer escaped prison after a court heard there was no way to confirm her gender.
Daily Telegraph, 27th February 2020
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Brian Christopher Jones: The Widely Ignored and Underdeveloped Problem with Judicial Power – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘As judicial power around the world increased immensely throughout the 20th and early 21st century—to the point where judges can invalidate legitimately passed constitutional amendments, strike down signature pieces of legislation, vote to dissolve successful political parties, and exercise a host of other significant powers—the idea of holding judges to account has become more relevant than ever. And while the general rule regarding holding public power is that the more you have of it, the more you should be held to account for it, worldwide we’ve seen that this mantra doesn’t apply to the judiciary in a straightforward manner, given its possible impact on judicial independence. However, the way this balance of power developed is also deeply ironic. For a branch that makes such a large claim of holding the powerful to account, judiciaries remain firmly (and hypocritically) against holding themselves to account.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 25th February 2020
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
Ms Justice Russell and some Feng Shui: the case of JH v MF [2020] EWHC 86 (Fam) – Garden Court Chambers
‘The case of JH v MJ concerned an appeal heard and allowed before Ms Justice Russell from HHJ Tolson, the designated family judge at the Central Family Court in London. For the avoidance of doubt that is the most senior judge at central family court with a number important roles in and oversight of the administration of family justice.’
Garden Court Chambers, 20th February 2020
Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk
