Judge refuses to stand aside amid row over UK Covid trial delays – The Guardian

‘A senior judge has refused to step down from a case involving custody time limits after she replaced another judge who criticised the government over delays in delivering justice.’

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The Guardian, 18th September 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Parliament surrendered role over Covid emergency laws, says Lady Hale – The Guardian

‘The former president of the supreme court says parliament “surrendered” its role over emergency laws restricting freedoms amid the coronavirus pandemic, in an intervention expected to embolden MPs threatening a Commons revolt.’

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The Guardian, 20th September 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge makes formal complaint over Covid custody waits – BBC News

‘A judge has claimed he was put under “improper and undue influence” to keep a defendant in custody.’

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BBC News, 11th September 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judge criticises UK government’s ‘inadequate’ efforts to aid Covid-19 backlog – The Guardian

‘A crown court judge has refused to extend the custody time limit for keeping a man in prison awaiting trial and accused the government of under-funding the criminal justice system during the pandemic.’

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The Guardian, 8th September 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Virtual hearings deny young lawyers “huge amount” of training – Litigation Futures

‘A High Court judge has voiced concerns that young solicitors and barristers are missing out on a “huge amount” of training because of virtual hearings.’

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Litigation Futures, 8th September 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Judge highlights open justice benefits of telephone hearings – Litigation Futures

Posted September 7th, 2020 in bail, coronavirus, extradition, judges, news, remote hearings, telephone hearings by sally

‘There is “a lot to be said” for telephone, rather than video, hearings from the perspective of open justice and parties should bear this in mind when deciding how to proceed, a High Court judge has said.’

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Litigation Futures, 4th September 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

High Court warning over JRs that “evolve exponentially” – Litigation Futures

Posted September 2nd, 2020 in case management, costs, Crown Prosecution Service, judges, judicial review, news by sally

‘A High Court judge has criticised public law practitioners for letting judicial reviews “evolve exponentially” so that the claim advanced at the hearing bears “little resemblance” to that for which permission was granted.’

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Litigation Futures, 2nd September 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Former trainee doctor in contempt for online campaign against judge – Legal Futures

‘A former trainee doctor has been found in contempt of court for repeatedly breaching injunctions imposed on him to stop using a website to harass a circuit judge.’

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Legal Futures, 26th August 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Judge loses race discrimination claim over litigant’s complaint – Legal Futures

Posted August 11th, 2020 in complaints, harassment, judges, news, race discrimination, victimisation by sally

‘A judge has failed in his claim that he suffered discrimination, harassment and victimisation due to his race over how a complaint by a litigant was dealt with.’

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Legal Futures, 10th August 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

City giant self-reports to SRA after trial streamed live on Zoom – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A City firm which disobeyed a court order and allowed a libel trial to be live streamed to clients abroad has reported itself to the regulator.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 7th August 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Top judge slates firm over trial live-stream breach – Legal Futures

‘The president of the Queen’s Bench Division has strongly criticised lawyers in the London office of US firm McDermott Will & Emery (MWE) after they allowed a trial to be live-streamed to observers outside the UK without the court’s permission.’

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Legal Futures, 7th August 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Another recusal refusal – but this time the Court of Appeal steps in – Transparency Project

‘In the second such case in a month, a judge has refused to recuse herself at the request of a litigant, but on this occasion the Court of Appeal has reversed that decision and ordered that she step down from the case and let another judge take over.’

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Transparency Project, 3rd August 2020

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Vos named as next Master of the Rolls – Litigation Futures

Posted August 3rd, 2020 in appeals, judges, news by sally

‘Sir Geoffrey Vos will take over as Master of the Rolls next year, it was announced on Friday, with a new Senior President of Tribunals and eight new Court of Appeal judges also named.’

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Litigation Futures, 3rd August 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Judge removed from child welfare case over ‘pejorative’ remarks about mother – The Guardian

Posted July 28th, 2020 in bias, family courts, judges, news, remote hearings by sally

‘A high court judge has been taken off a case centred on the care of a child after “pejorative comments” she made about the child’s mother were accidentally broadcast to people taking part in a hearing remotely.’

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The Guardian, 25th July 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge rejects calls for recusal in planning case amid accusations of bias – Local Government Lawyer

Posted July 27th, 2020 in bias, injunctions, judges, local government, news, planning, recusal by sally

‘A High Court judge has refused to recuse himself from a planning case involving Surrey Heath Borough Council after claimants accused him of bias.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 23rd July 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Stevie Martin: Bullying, threatening and animus: what remains of the rule against apparent bias following the Supreme Court’s judgment in Serafin? – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘At the heart of the Supreme Court judgment in Serafin v Malkiewicz was the question of whether the Court of Appeal was correct in finding that the defamation proceedings before Justice Jay had been unfair (though the Court’s reasons with respect to the public interest defence under s 4 of the Defamation Act 2013 are also profoundly significant).’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 22nd July 2020

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Judge refuses to recuse herself over counsel link – Litigation Futures

Posted July 8th, 2020 in barristers, bias, judges, litigants in person, McKenzie friends, news, recusal by sally

‘A High Court judge has refused a request from a litigant in person to recuse herself from hearing a case where she had briefly supervised counsel for the defendants at her old chambers.’

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Litigation Futures, 8th July 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Lewis Graham: Lessons from Lord Hope’s Diaries: judicial ideology and panel selection – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted June 18th, 2020 in judges, judiciary, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘Even in a more transparent and open Supreme Court, glimpses behind the curtain of officialdom are seldom offered to the public. This is understandable; the independence and impartiality of the judiciary sets it apart from other branches of the state. As Lord Neuberger (The Power of Judges, p.22) has noted, to be effective, “justice has always to be detached, almost Olympian”. We may know of judges in their official capacity, but once they adopt their robes, personal accounts of their day-to-day lives generally remain off-limits.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 18th June 2020

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Master of Rolls sets up working group as concerns expressed about end to stay on housing possession claims – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Master of the Rolls, Sir Terence Etherton, has established a cross-sector working group to address concerns about the consequences of the current stay on housing possession claims ending.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 5th June 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

No well-tuned cymbal: fairness in judges – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted June 5th, 2020 in appeals, chambers articles, defamation, judges, media, news, retrials, Supreme Court by sally

‘This is, to say the least, a rather unfortunate saga. The Claimant, Mr Serafin, brought a defamation claim against a Polish newspaper run by the Defendants. An article had alleged various things including that he was financially untrustworthy and was dishonest in his dealings with women. At trial before Jay J, he represented himself. He was comprehensively disbelieved by the judge. His claim was dismissed, in most cases because the judge found that the article was accurate, but in some instances because the defendants had a public interest defence under s. 4 Defamation Act 2013.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 4th June 2020

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com