header-logo header-logo

Judge & fury

25 November 2016 / Athelstane Aamodt
Issue: 7724 / Categories: Features , Profession
printer mail-detail
nlj_7724_aamondt

When does criticism of judges become contempt, asks Athelstane Aamodt

The result in the case of R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union [2016] EWHC 2768 (Admin) was always going to be controversial given the heat of the political debate surrounding the UK’s vote to leave the EU. However, the judgment given by the Lord Chief Justice (Lord Thomas) and the Master of the Rolls (Sir Terence Etherton) and Sales LJ resulted in the judges being personally attacked in certain sections of the press. The Daily Mail described the judges as “Enemies of the People” on the front page of its 4 November edition, along with pictures of the judges, and bizarrely singled out Sir Terence for being an “openly gay ex-Olympic fencer” as if this was somehow opprobrious. The Daily Telegraph on the same day ran the headline “The Judges Versus the People”(also with pictures of the judges) and—in so many words—accused the judges of frustrating Brexit.

Déjà vu

The tone and substance of these attacks were condemned by many.

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
back-to-top-scroll