Female lawyers should not be forced to wear heels, says Baroness Hale – The Independent

‘The UK’s most senior judge has condemned law firms that demand female lawyers wear high heels, as she lamented the lack of “progress” on sex discrimination in the legal profession.’

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The Independent, 12th January 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Police reject judge’s call to apologise over wrongful conviction – The Guardian

Posted January 13th, 2020 in appeals, deceit, evidence, judges, miscarriage of justice, news, police, professional conduct by tracey

‘Police have refused to apologise to a man wrongly jailed for 25 years because officers lied at his trial, even after the now-retired appeal court judge who quashed the conviction told the Guardian that the force should say sorry.’

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The Guardian, 13th January 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Lady Hale warns UK not to select judges on basis of political views – The Guardian

‘The government should not select judges on the basis of their political views as they do in the US, the outgoing president of the supreme court, Lady Hale, has warned.’

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The Guardian, 18th December 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Circuit judge wins online harassment injunction – Legal Futures

Posted December 12th, 2019 in harassment, injunctions, internet, judges, litigants in person, news, vexatious litigants by tracey

‘A circuit judge has won an injunction against a disgruntled litigant in person who created a website to attack him and his family, and had thrown out as vexatious an attempt to counter-claim.’

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Legal Futures, 12th December 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Judge sues MoJ claiming racial discrimination – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 12th, 2019 in bias, harassment, judges, Ministry of Justice, news, race discrimination by tracey

‘A district judge is suing the Ministry of Justice and two supervising judges for unconscious bias, harassment, victimisation, micro-aggression and discrimination after a complaint was made against him by an appellant in one of his cases.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 11th December 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Lady Hale at the BACFI Denning Lecture 2019, Athenaeum, Pall Mall, London – Supreme Court

Posted December 11th, 2019 in diversity, equality, gender, judges, legal history, legal profession, sex discrimination, women by tracey

‘Women in law –the next 100 yearsBACFI DenningLecture2019Athenaeum, Pall Mall, LondonLady Hale, President of The Supreme Court.’

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Supreme Court, 4th December 2019

News Judge wins harassment order against LiP with ‘vendetta’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 11th, 2019 in harassment, injunctions, internet, judges, litigants in person, news by tracey

‘A circuit judge has secured an injunction against a disgruntled litigant in person who pursued a vendetta against him following an adverse ruling.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 10th December 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Mother claims judge’s ‘outdated views’ on sexual assault led him to rule against her in child custody battle – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 6th, 2019 in bias, children, custody, domestic violence, judges, news, rape by sally

‘A mother has claimed that a judge’s “outdated views” on sexual assault led him to rule against her after she accused a former partner of rape during a child custody case.’

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Daily Telegraph, 5th December 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Lady Hale predicts gender parity in judiciary by 2033 – The Guardian

Posted November 25th, 2019 in diversity, equality, judges, judiciary, news, remuneration, statistics by sally

‘Gender equality in the number of judges in England and Wales should be achieved by 2033 at the current rates of progress, according to Lady Hale, the president of the supreme court.’

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The Guardian, 23rd November 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

The President’s New Clothes – Transparency Project

Posted November 25th, 2019 in domestic violence, families, family courts, judges, media, news by sally

‘This week has seen reports in the legal press of a speech in which the President of the Family Division set out an idea for a research project about news reports containing accounts of how family courts have handled domestic abuse claims. See for example : Press attacks on family courts should be assessed – McFarlane by Monidipa Fouzder in The Gazette.’

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Transparency Project, 23rd November 2019

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Supreme Court judge calls for independent algorithm regulator – Legal Futures

Posted November 19th, 2019 in artificial intelligence, judges, news by sally

‘A Supreme Court justice has called for the creation of an expert commission to act as “a sort of independent regulator” of algorithms.’

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Legal Futures, 19th November 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

The Lord Chief Justice gives the Pilgrim Fathers Lecture 2019 – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted November 15th, 2019 in courts, judges, legal history, speeches by tracey

‘The Lord Chief Justice gives the Pilgrim Fathers Lecture 2019.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 15th November 2019

Source: www.judiciary.uk

High Court recuses “organ grinder” circuit judge – Legal Futures

Posted November 14th, 2019 in bias, case management, judges, news, recusal by tracey

‘The High Court has ordered the recusal of a circuit judge who used “intemperate language” and told a barrister that he expected to see “the organ grinder” appear at the next hearing of a case.’

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Legal Futures, 13th November 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

SC judge calls for ‘expert commission’ on algorithms – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 14th, 2019 in artificial intelligence, equity, judges, news by tracey

‘A Supreme Court justice has added his voice to calls for the regulation of computer algorithms handling crucial decisions about people’s lives. An “expert commission” could help ensure that automated decision making processes have “a capacity for mercy”, Lord Sales (Philip Sales QC), said last night.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 13th November 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

High Court recuses “organ grinder” circuit judge – Legal Futures

Posted November 13th, 2019 in bias, delay, disclosure, documents, judges, news, professional conduct, recusal by sally

‘The High Court has ordered the recusal of a circuit judge who used “intemperate language” and told a barrister that he expected to see “the organ grinder” appear at the next hearing of a case.’

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Legal Futures, 13th November 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

From contract to role: using human rights to widen the personal scope of employment protections – Oxford Human Rights Hub

‘The UK Supreme Court’s judgment in Gilham demonstrates how human rights can be used to widen the class of individuals who benefit from employment rights (the “personal scope” of the rights). Further, the court’s reasoning evidences a shift away from contractual thinking in labour law.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 1st November 2019

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

‘I was told women couldn’t survive as barristers’ – BBC News

Posted November 4th, 2019 in barristers, diversity, equality, judges, judiciary, news, women by sally

‘Two senior judges have spoken about the challenges they have faced in the justice system.’

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BBC News, 4th November 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Behaviour of family judge meant hearing amounted to serious procedural irregularity, High Court judge finds – Local Government Lawyer

‘A district judge who was found “shaking with rage” during a case on a child’s care plan has had her ruling overturned on grounds of serious procedural irregularity.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 31st October 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Gilham: breaking down the limitations on whistleblowing protection – where next? – Littleton Chambers

‘Whistleblowing protection continues to expand and develop. Even without reliance on Art.10 ECHR the Courts have not been shy of adopting what might at first appear to be a strained construction of the legislation to further the underlying policy objectives. Now the Supreme Court’s decision in Gilham v Ministry of Justice [2019] UKSC 44 has demonstrated the strength of the interpretative obligation to construe the legislation in accordance with Article 10 (or that article read with A.14 ECHR). Indeed this points to the possibility of extending the scope of protection much further. Litigation over the position of secondees, applicants, volunteers and others, as well as in relation to detriment inflicted because of a perception (justified or not) that a worker has or may be about to make a disclosure, or was associated in some way with someone else’s disclosures, can be expected. These cases will need to explore the scope of the State’s positive obligation to protect freedom of expression. They will no doubt face arguments that the necessary reading down is against the grain, or contrary to fundamental features, of the statutory provisions.’

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Littleton Chambers, 17th October 2019

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

Gilham v Ministry of Justice [2019] UKSC 44 – Old Square Chambers

‘In Gilham v MOJ the Supreme Court considered the novel question whether judges are workers for the purposes of the protection against whistle blowing detriment in the Employment Rights Act 1996.’

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Old Square Chambers, 16th October 2019

Source: www.oldsquare.co.uk