Criminal, Professional Discipline, Regulatory & Sports Law. SEC Juniors comm co-chair & LILA treasurer. RT's ≠ endorsement & my views ≠ those of my chambers.
I have always been grateful that as a barrister working in England, I would never have to defend another human facing the possibility of punishment by death. It’s very worrying to see the Home Secretary considering it again. God help us.
#DeathPenalty
My bicycle chain broke last year.
I tried to pass a law making it illegal for my bicycle to stop working, tried taking it to court, tried suing it, tried to get it arrested, then tried to sack it.
Turns out I needed to spend some £ fixing it & looking after it.
Imagine that
The Lord Chancellor, responsible for the efficient functioning & independence of the courts, chose not to address
@thebarcouncil
conference in person because he was *check notes* in Walton at a Christmas festival. A dereliction of duty?
@mrjamesob
@BarristerSecret
Great to open the Christmas festival in Walton today - wonderful to see the community out enjoying the festive fun, including the roller-skating Christmas pudding!
Listening to the caller on
@mrjamesob
right now who is planning a joint funeral for his parents. My heart is broken for him. Such a brave man speaking on national radio. May his parents rest in peace 💚
I am reliably informed that the ceiling collapsed in one of the courtrooms at Inner London Crown Court this morning.
Water leaking through & the panels in the ceiling gave way & collapsed over the usher’s desk; thankfully no one hurt (this time).
#TheSystemIsBroken
#DontLookUp
So it turns out Boris Johnson spent £2.6 million on this studio for daily televised briefings, before deciding he didn't want daily televised briefings.
Mum has been watching the wonderful work from
@BarristerSecret
&
@Channel4News
. Mum heard that the SB has been at the Bar for 10 years & using her detective skills has decided that the similarity in call + the time I spend on here = I must be the SB.
Told her I can’t comment 😅
Capital Punishment: 🧵
Every time I see/hear arguments in favour of a return to capital punishment, I remind myself of Lord Donaldson's sentencing remarks aimed at the entirely innocent Guildford Four.
1/
Disappointing to hear the Mayor with
@mrjamesob
speaking about weekend courts to reduce the backlog. Who exactly will be doing weekend trials? The defence lawyers (& CPS) in the CJS are exhausted, close to burn out, overworked & underpaid. Funding is the solution, not Saturdays.
Maybe we could spread a rumour that the
#DeathPenalty
was invented in France and is a french concept, furthered and developed through European collaboration. That might do the trick. 😅
Imagine you are the PM
@RishiSunak
What three things about
@DominicRaab
’s last stint as Justice Secretary makes you think he is the right person for the job this time?
Even one thing, let’s be realistic..
Don’t all shout at once..
The mountain where she said, “yes”, in the town where we are to be married on Friday.
I am surely the luckiest man alive!
(Headphones in for the
@TheCriminalBar
meeting)
⚠️If the lack of funding for the CJS didn’t shock you..
⚠️If the lack of prosecution/defence counsel didn’t shock you..
⚠️If crumbling buildings/collapsing roofs didn’t shock you..
⚠️If the flea infestation didn’t shock you..(seriously!)
🚨the prisons are full..!
@mrjamesob
Senior Presiding Judge, Edis LJ, has asked judges to adjourn, from next week, the sentencing of offenders who are on bail where custody is likely to be imposed. The prison estate is full.
Dear Mr Raab,
You will know that Justice itself is blind.
Blind for good reason - it is both impartial & objective.
It seems you also think that the Secretary of State for Justice should be blind; blind to the reality of the criminal justice system. 1/
Our courts continue to recover – with backlogs in the magistrates’ court falling by a fifth since their peak in July 2020.
I urge
@TheCriminalBar
to join us by putting victims first and helping to ensure they get the swift justice they deserve in the Crown Court.
A proud day for me.
Called to the Bar of Northern Ireland with those I love there to enjoy the day with me.
I wish my father had been alive to see it, he was there with us in spirit.
Many thanks to
@TheBarofNI
for a special day to remember.
@Nedbar1QC
#DominicRaab
really doesn’t have a clue.
The Lord Chancellor shared an extraordinary take on policing today on
#Marr
- apparently the police don’t usually investigate things that have happened a year ago.
If we judge a person by what they say in public… (a thread):
@mrjamesob
I was waiting for you to see this 😅 - a whole new meaning to ‘tough on crime’! If it’s already happened, the police won’t investigate it. Didn’t see that one coming.
I attended a meeting this evening in relation to Extended Operating Hours.
The msg is clear, we do not & will not accept EOHs. ❌
We simply do not have the human capacity.
The
@TheCriminalBar
officers & Exec are working tirelessly to resist EOHs.
#SayNoToEOH
@TheYoungCBA
To all those wonderful future stars of the Bar who are receiving letters to say they have been unsuccessful with a particular application, I lost count after 30 such letters but didn’t give up. It will happen, don’t let it get you down. Your time will come.
#persevere
#pupillage
Hearing some horror stories at the moment, directly from clients.
Families at their wits’ ends. No social visits and a reduction in legal visits.
We have a rampant
#mentalhealth
problem building in our
#prisons
& it’s being completely ignored.
Hi
#azeliabanks
in light of your recent comments on
#instagram
about Irish women & Irish people generally, perhaps I can introduce you to the
#CommunicationsAct2003
(s127) before you land in England. If you keep up the insults, you may end up with first hand experience.
Thank you to all the journalists who ensured that our struggle made the front pages & remained at the top of the news schedule.
The role of journalists cannot be understated, thank you for ensuring the public understood why we took the extreme option of indefinite action.
My Father passed away on Saturday. He was one of a kind. Our family will never be the same again but he will live on in our hearts & we are blessed with many, many happy memories. Thank you
@AlanJRodgers
for your kind words. Paddy McGarvey; may God be good to him 🙏🏻
@BeraghGAA
I am delighted to announce that I have joined
@2BedfordRow
after 10 wonderful years at Church Court Chambers.
Today marks a new & exciting chapter in my career. I look forward to working with my new colleagues.
After 3 months in hospital my Father is on his way
#home
.
I’m lucky enough to be at my family home, waiting for him.
To say I am beyond excited simply doesn’t do it justice.
Thank you to all the
#nurses
,
#carers
&
#doctors
everywhere. Your work is fully appreciated here. 🙏🏻
I’ve just arrived at a
#NightingaleCourt
- but I’m confused, is this really a court?
It’s clean, spacious, warm, there is adequate conference rooms, a large comfy public waiting area, working lifts, and — the roof *is not* leaking.
This should be the blueprint for all courts!
My ‘floating’ trial did not find a court - new trial date in November 2022.
⚠️ Offence dates back to January 2018 ⚠️
The defendant was 21 at the time & will be 25 at the trial, if it even gets on in November.
#TheSystemIsBroken
#CrownCourtBacklog
#LegalAid
If
@DominicRaab
thought about it for a moment, he’d realise that a properly funded criminal justice system is the big ‘win’ that he needs.
🚨 Want to be tough on crime❓
Easy - fund the system properly to ensure speedy justice, fair procedure & diverse representation. ✅
It’s starting to feel uncomfortable as an Irish person in the UK. This anti-Irish nonsense needs to stop, it’s dangerous. Someone unplug this brexiteer robot please, surely a genuine human being couldn’t be so stupid and reckless?
@BarristerSecret
10 years in jail for damaging a statue? If the statue were a real person, you could literally stab him/her in the leg, (throw on a robbery if you like) plead guilty and get less than ten years. I think we have finally lost the plot... 🤯
I once heard someone refer to empathy as, “putting yourself in someone else’s shoes whilst keeping your own socks on”.
That made it into my working document of useful phrases. Anyone want to share other examples?
@MAMBarLife
@BarristerSecret
@Cambridge_Law
RARE POSITIVE TWEET:
One of the genuine pleasures of this job is being up against somebody much more experienced and remorselessly harvesting all their tips and tricks for questioning witnesses and crafting speeches. It’s the best way to improve.
So for those talking about "collateral damage". Please don't use that phrase, use the names of those innocent persons who would have died at the hands of the state, executed for crimes they did not commit.
I will start: Paul Hill, Gerry Conlan, Paddy Armstrong,
6/
@mrjamesob
James, would you consider a segment about the proposals remove the right to trial by Jury. We need to get the message out, justice is under attack. Thanks
#JuryTrials
The next Lord Chancellor has the extraordinary opportunity to, in a matter of minutes, achieve more than
@DominicRaab
did during his ghastly tenure.
How you ask?
Pick up the 📞 & give
@Kirsty_Brimelow
@TheCriminalBar
a call.
We have always been willing to talk, Raab was not.
Don't be afraid to connect with barristers on LinkedIn. Not everyone knows a barrister & it is a good way to start a conversation. Most barristers I know will accept requests from law students & help where they can. Good luck.
I hope the media cover this story;
“large numbers of defendants to be released from custody pre-trial due to chronic underinvestment in
#CriminalJusticeSystem
”.
This is not a Covid story. This is a story about systematic neglect, underfunding & wilful disregard for justice.
The Old Bailey is currently handing out trial dates for defendants in custody in October 2021.
For some, there's going to have be a decision whether they can be held on remand for nine months longer than standard custody time limits allow.
The Lord Chancellor
@DominicRaab
still hasn’t met with the leaders of the
@TheCriminalBar
- Record backlog in the Courts ✅
- Barristers balloting to withdraw services indefinitely (a first) ✅
- Criminal Justice System collapsing ✅
He must be very busy- this is his Twitter
A different
#spotlightsessions
thread: Good afternoon, I’m defendant X, I used to work but I lost my job. I was arrested in early 2018 & RUI’d. I received a postal requisition & was told to attend court for my 1st appearance. I applied for Legal Aid, having lost my job, but 1/10
Good morning, I’m Justine and I work as a legal adviser at HMCTS. Today I’ll be giving you a glimpse into my working life, offering an insight into what my role involves & the part I play in the justice system.
#SpotlightSessions
The Four were not the only victims of the infamous miscarriage of justice, the Maguire family were also convicted - seven of them. Patrick Maguire was only 13 at the time of his arrest and spent four years in an adult category A prison.
4/
Carole Armstrong, Annie Maguire, Patrick Maguire, Patrick Maguire Jnr, Vince Maguire, Sean Smyth (Annie's brother), Patrick O'Neill, Giuseppe Conlan (Gerry's father).
There are many examples - Sam Hallam stands out as one. His first appeal failed.
7/
I was bullied in my first 3 years of secondary school. It was hell. I was lucky I was able to leave it behind. The thought of being bullied as an adult, well its unthinkable. It's nothing short of a national scandal that
@pritipatel
remains as Home Sec.
#PritiPatelmustgo
@pauldurcan
Nope. Mother from Mayo, father from Tyrone. Both farming backgrounds. First to go to uni in family. Nothing to do with my background, just didn’t find them funny is all.
Jury sent home today; crown were due to open case. The reason I hear you ask? The roof fell in, obviously. Duh!
#TheLawIsBroken
#SnaresbrookCC
what other profession would put up with this? Annex robing room a ruin.
@BarristerSecret
I really hope
@MoJGovUK
are in talks with
@cineworld
- there is a real opportunity to use these spaces for bail trials until such a time as the cinemas return to normal service. That would help reduce the outrageous backlog.
@BarristerSecret
@mrjamesob
The Four ranged in age from 17 to 25 and were not released until 1989, some 14 years after the trial. Their initial appeal failed in 1977.
Had capital punishment been available, one imagines that the mood at the time would have led to swift executions.
3/
@abbydphillip
@Lisibell_87
I found Dr Conley to be evasive and more like a WH spokesperson. Clarity was needed but missing. I also thought his attitude, sarcasm and behaviour in walking away was strikingly odd, all things considered.
I publicly confirm:
- I will be following
#NoReturns
.
- I will never join a Public Defender Service.
- I fully support and believe in
@TheCriminalBar
- I fully support a united campaign, working with all arms of the legal profession.
The future of the justice system is in this man’s hands… what hope do the victims of crime or those working in the criminal justice system have? Tough on crime? More like “tough on those affected by crime”.
@BarristerSecret
@KarlTurnerMP
@mrjamesob
So many good eggs leaving twitter. I want to do the same. The access to real time news and commentary is the only thing keeping me here. Everything else is dead in the water thanks to Musk. Anyone else sitting on that precipice?
@jimrobottom
I don’t think it’s a serious move but I believe there is method in starting the fire of debate. I don’t trust this Government to abide by any agreement but I still have hope. Thanks for the detail 👍🏼
This idiot barrister is claiming that a person is guilty before being proven guilty in court. Absolute muppet. No wonder he wants to keep his identity secret.
HHJ Bate & staff at Norwich CC ought to be commended for their exceptional use of CVP. No forced attendance & a slick operation w/emails the evening before, contact details of all advocates involved & links. Every court should do the same
@CEOofHMCTS
@HMCTSgovuk
@TheCriminalBar
The
@TheCriminalBar
ballot will shortly be released.
Whatever your position, take time to consider it, reflect, and ask questions if necessary.
Your vote is personal & no one should be abused or attacked for taking the position they take.
Good luck friends & colleagues.
🚨An important reminder🚨
TV/Film legal dramas are *not* real & the way the criminal trial process is represented is usually very misleading and/or plainly wrong.
Don’t be angry about MPs receiving regular pay increases over the last 20yrs - in line with inflation.
Be angry that the Government thinks it’s fine to deny the same thing to
@TheCriminalBar
& criminal solicitors.
What is good for the goose must surely be good for the gander.
@pgofton
Perhaps. I stand by my comment. Having lost a close family member to cancer, I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. There are better ways of making your point. Anyway.
This tells you all you need to know about the staff, players & coaches
@londonirish
Treated abhorrently by the owners & senior management, yet still find the grace & courage to think about the supporters at what must be the most difficult of times for each of them.
#PureClass