A Change of Routine
Some of the most common trials to face JPs nowadays are the Section 172 cases that arise from the ubiquitous speed cameras. Some people (such as Christopher Huhne) simply lie about who was driving the...
View ArticleSuppressio Veri, Suggestio Falsi
In the aftermath of the appalling murder of an MP some commentators are looking at the occasionally poisonous comments made about politicians. The received wisdom of the public is that politicians are...
View ArticleSorry
This is a brief apology for the recent lack of postings on here. The first reason is that I have just had a visit from my son and his newly-pregnant wife who live thousands of miles away and the second...
View ArticleEnough, Already!
This is not a political blog, although politics inevitably creep in to discussions of matters legal. I have followed politics since I was at school, although I was never elected to anything. The...
View ArticleGlad This Wasn't Me!
A judge who was verbally abused by a defendant reciprocated at a court hearing where he was being sentenced for breaching an antisocial behaviour order.John Hennigan, 50, who had breached the order by...
View ArticleUpdate
As some have noticed, I haven't put on too many posts of late, due mostly to my slightly dodgy health and to family commitments.. In addition I am weeks away from my enforced retirement as a JP when I...
View ArticleIT SNAFU
My bench recently arranged its AGM at a nearby Crown Court, in accordance with the sensible policy of using HMCTS property assets whenever possible.Unfortunately the IT that we use to display documents...
View ArticleSomething And Nothing
I sat today in a bench of two with a liked and respected colleague who is to retire in a couple of months when she reaches seventy (although you would never guess it)..Before the off, we fantasised...
View ArticleWhat's In A Name?
The House of Commons has just refused to allow pardons to men convicted decades ago of sex offences that are no longer illegal. The issue has stirred up the inevitable hornets' nest of Twitter and...
View ArticleTasteless - Moi?
When the current third-runway project was in its first flush of 'yes we can, no we can't' I said something rather tactless to my then Bench Chairman. I grew up near Heathrow (although I knew it as...
View ArticleAnd Another Thing.......
The TV news tonight interviewed various locals who oppose the proposed new runway at Heathrow, some of them in an emotional state. One lady said that she had lived in Harmondsworth for over twenty...
View ArticleMoney, Money, Money (or private affluence and public squalor)
I sat in my crumbling courthouse a couple of months ago, having edged past the permanently-stuck gate on the justices' car park, and made my way up the nearly-new lift to the assembly room. It is a...
View ArticleSo its Goodnight From Him
A colleague, who has sometimes posted here as Bystander N, has sent me the following, asking me to put it on the blog. It is gratifying, and I hope that it is true.Tomorrow is a particularly sad day...
View ArticleName Drop
The current Press coverage that has featured Lord Chief Justice Thomas reminds me that I met him a few times, and heard him speak on several occasions. A rubicund Welshman with tufts of silver hair, he...
View ArticleSenior Wig Writes
I have just had a letter on lovely thick straw-coloured letterhead from the Royal Courts of Justice in which a Rt.Hon.Lord Justice thanks me for my 31 years' service on the bench. That's nice, and I...
View ArticleFancy Having A Go?
The MoJ's planning for recruitment to the bench is no better than their usual planning, unfortunately. When I was sworn in in 1985 I became one of about 29,000 JPs in England and Wales; today the Bench...
View ArticlePriorities
I am afraid that my mind has slipped off matters legal today, since my new granddaughter Martina was born at 1am GMT today, in Bogota, Colombia. Congratulations to parents Matthew and Tata.
View ArticleJoined Up?
According to the news on my radio today there are calls to make the wearing of military decorations that have not been legitimately earned punishable by imprisonment and/or a fine. Of course we must...
View ArticleOut of The Ordinary
The right-wing fanatic who is accused of the murder of Jo Cox MP has opted not to give evidence nor to call any witnesses in his defence. The jury will be directed by the judge as to how to deal with...
View ArticleSupreme Chicken?
The Supreme Court is now considering a crucial case that will clarify the power of the judiciary vis a vis that of Parliament. Many of the country's finest legal minds will focus on this matter, and a...
View ArticleIn The Nick
Prisons are in the news again, following recent outbreaks of disorder. This is an excellent piece from the TelegraphI have been to Hollesley Bay a couple of times; it had a completely different culture...
View ArticleDog Days
There was a news item this week about the sentencing of some people who organised dog fights, with large sums wagered on the result. I saw one such case a few years ago, and it needed a strong stomach...
View ArticleNew(ish) Stuff
A friend recently asked me to cast an eye over a summons she has received for a speeding offence. She was going too fast for a speed awareness course or a fixed penalty, and was duly reported. She is...
View ArticleBack to the Ranch
In the six months since my retirement from the bench I have not had cause to visit the courthouse. This week, however, I volunteered to show some local people around the building, and I was agreeably...
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So. Farewell then Bystander...
We're very sorry to say that Bystander (real name Richard Bristow) died at Stoke Mandeville on June 4, aged 70. He was a Justice of the Peace at Uxbridge from 1985 to 2016, and was the first chairman...
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