Professor Leslie Thomas KC
@_lesliethomas
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Dad - Gresham College Professor of Law - Goldsmiths UoL Visiting Professor - Barrister at Garden Court Chambers - Attorney at JC Legal Solutions - Why? I care
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Joined August 2012
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A potential stocking filler? It’s not been an easy journey. But hey, I’m really happy I’m here fighting the good fight. A very peaceful festive season if you celebrate this time of year. And let’s all hope ‘men stop playing with bombs like kids play with toys’ everywhere 🎅 🎄
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Cambridge University Press are offering complete books to download on race, protests & civil rights. These are available for free until 12 July 2020. There is quite a selection. Check out retweet & forward to those you think would benefit / be interested
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“Anything else is a recipe for corruption. But until government understands and respects that there is a genuine public interest in how they are awarding Covid contracts, including through the VIP lane, we have little choice.”
@JolyonMaugham
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“The Met has handed out 17,000 fines to Londoners for breaking lockdown rules, that disproportionately penalised Black and Asian people, who were almost twice as likely to be handed fines or arrested for breaches of the lockdown rules than white people.”
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This is just heartbreaking ❤️🩹. This is wrong on so many levels. This is not how we treat any child. Now watch this video and look me in the eye and tell me racism did not play a part. - Gymnastics Ireland fails to apologise over medal snub for black girl
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If a hair on the head of one of colleagues is injured, yes the PM and his Home Secretary will be held accountable. What politicians say does matter. Don’t have blood on your hands, be responsible with your rhetoric and don’t play politics with our lives. We’re only doing our jobs
Bar Council’s, Amanda Pinto QC, wrote to PM urging him to withdraw his comments. She said: “I deplore your remarks at the Conservative party conference which wrongly seek to politicise and attack lawyers for simply doing their job in the public interest.”
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You know I’ve been thinking about it, the greatest disinfectant or check against police abuses of power is the camera in the personal smart phone. Because this nonsense has been happening for decades. There’s nothing new here for us black folks.
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Sheku Bayoh apparently had ‘superhuman strength’, “unaffected” by CS spray. Could lift 3 of the heaviest officers off the ground in a push up. Yet he is dead. No sign of injury on the officer. These excuses are not new & are deployed in deaths of black men
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I realise that it’s not imposter syndrome many people of colour feel. For that implies we somehow feel unworthy to sit at the table. No,what we experience is trespasser syndrome when others feel we are somehow not worthy to sit with them at the table. So who has the real problem?
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I wanted to be lawyer from age 13/14 but was discouraged and told one had to go to Oxbridge for law and I won’t make it, by my local ed careers officer. His advice? ‘get job in Tesco, or become a police officer’. I’ve met naysayers at every step and ignored them!
#mypathtolaw
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Jon I can’t believe you sent this tweet what happened to you? I was once proud to have you as a colleague at Garden Court fighting for the rights of others -v- rogue landlords in our younger days. This tweet is just wrong makes you unrecognisable to me now which why I call it out
The Equality Act undermines school discipline by empowering the stroppy teenager of colour.
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Look the simple fact is all chokeholds should be outlawed. No discretion to officers, no grey areas, no confusion about what’s right & wrong equals no deaths or injuries. ‘Get off my neck': London police officer suspended after arrest incident
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My appointment as Law Prof
@GreshamCollege
is timely. George Floyd’s death reminds us all of the injustice Black people face and the abuse of police power. I will not hesitate to shine a spotlight on these cases in my 1st series of lectures. Prof
@JoDQC
I have huge shoes to fill.
NEWS:*Congrats*
@_lesliethomas
QC
@gardencourtlaw
new Professor of Law
@GreshamCollege
. Top-rated UK
#humanrights
#constitutionallaw
#barrister
. Taught
@kingstonuni
@uniwestminister
@Openuniversity
. Will deliver free public
#GreshamLectures
.Read more here:
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“…all families of those that die in suspicious circumstances in police custody should have an automatic right enshrined in law to get immediate access to police bodycam footage showing exactly what happened during their final moments on this earth.”
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“I’d like it recognised that in the legal profession and in our society we have a problem. If you can’t see there’s a problem you’re part of it.” Fair comment?
@TheInnerTemple
@GreshamCollege
@gardencourtlaw
@thebarcouncil
@barstandards
@legalhackette
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So you think the UK doesn’t have policing problems part 5. An inquest heard the deceased was punched 15 times by officers, & that police restraint, including use of Tasers &!batons, contributed to death. The coroner said the restraint used was “excessive”.
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2 words - Totally unacceptable!
Look we have had enough. This has been happening as long as I have been a barrister and way before then. It’s 2020 not 1960. The Courts have to get their act together. What you going to do?
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Let me add that wigs in the 21 century look ridiculous on everyone. We don’t need them. Judges in the higher courts no longer wear them and justice hasn’t suffered as a result. No the sky will not fall in if we abandon the wig.
One of Britain’s black QCs has called for "culturally insensitive" wigs to be scrapped after a colleague with an afro was told he must wear one or risk disciplinary action -
@_lesliethomas
told
@thetimes
that wigs were “fashioned for caucasian hair”
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Blood, sweat and lots & lots of tears
Finally completed
Out 14 April 2022
@UnitedAgents
@zoe_ross12
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Today’s 3rd Anniversary of
#Grenfell
. RIP.We’re still waiting for the appointment of the full complement of panel members. The issue did race/discrimination impacted decisions or omissions has not gone away. Yet sadly is still not on
@grenfellinquiry
agenda. Elephant in the room.
“Look at the lawyers … How many of them have lived in a tower block or on a council estate or in social housing?”
Grenfell Tower victims’ lawyer Leslie Thomas QC says the lack of diversity in the Grenfell Inquiry could “affect confidence and affect justice”.
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Are you an aspiring barrister? From a poor background? Could you really use a £4000 social mobility scholarship? Well see below and good luck. (Remember we need you because the Bar needs more diversity and inclusion across race, gender disability and class).
@MSingh1469
Aspiring barristers from poor backgrounds, whatever non/faith -2021 Guru Nanak Social Mobility Bar Scholarship scheme is now open! How to apply: £4K and mentoring 1st prize & help to all apps with
#pupillage
forms
@thesikhway
#IamtheBar
#socialmobility
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In the past 3 years, the courtroom fate of more than 240 people in the UK – almost all young black men – has been decided, partly, by their musical taste. This raises troubling questions of freedom of expression, racial prejudice & art in court. Editorial
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What did I say yesterday, joke! I knew this appointment was wrong. It’s never a good start if less than 12 hours into a job you’re saying sorry for highly offensive anti-gay remarks. Sewell you can’t lead the race commission, step aside. It will end badly.
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Today was one of those days which reminds me why I do this job.
@KKSoodLaw
&I managed to secure the release of a terminally ill prisoner on compassionate grounds with possibly only days to live. He can now die in peace with his partner &children. Life as a human rights barrister!
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Bar Council’s, Amanda Pinto QC, wrote to PM urging him to withdraw his comments. She said: “I deplore your remarks at the Conservative party conference which wrongly seek to politicise and attack lawyers for simply doing their job in the public interest.”
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This article is a must read. Adultification - “…children of colour are not seen as “innocent”, as white children would be. It is a form of racism that has a disproportionate impact on black children…”
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This just makes me weep “This is the worst racial disparity in the criminal justice system and shows how discrimination perpetuates even with children who have not been convicted.” Nine out of 10 children on remand in London come from BAME background
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So do you think the UK doesn’t have problems
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Alex
@EssexBarrister
Lord Reed President of Supreme Court about you “Alexandra Wilson is a very gifted young lawyer, an Oxford graduate who has won umpteen scholarships, and for her to be treated like that was extremely disappointing to say the least.”
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‘What one change would you make to achieve black equality in Britain?’ Well, here are 17 great ideas just for starters from some exceptional thinkers. Including “We need black history taught as history not just once a year, and not just as black history.”
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I read this and thought the Guardian has posted its annual April Fool's day joke a day early. But the reality is this is no laughing matter. Institutional racism is a daily reality for many Black people in the UK regardless of this report. We fight on.
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It’s out.
@simonschusterUK
@UA_Books
@GreshamCollege
@gardencourtlaw
@KingstonUni
@TheInnerTemple
@INQUEST_ORG
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The new school of advocacy taught me it needn’t be old school, middle class, white male, Marshall-Hall or Rumpole style. Use your own voice, class, race, or gender to advantage. Airs or graces not needed to be effective in court. Thank you my mentor Courtenay Griffiths QC
@cgxqc
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My 1st case was 30 years ago this week, a child custody dispute. Nervous & wanting to do my best, but the judge tore a strip off me shouted & undermined me in the court. My crimes? ‘Mr Thomas we don’t say ‘Dad’ in this Court’ he barked I got another earful when I replied ‘okay’.
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2 weeks ago, a Black man was horrifically murdered on tape, begging for his life and calling out for his dead mother. Many people on twitter were silent about that event but today are making noise about the pulling down of a statue erected to a colonial slave owner. Perspective?
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I am absolutely exhausted after tonight’s lecture
@GreshamCollege
. I want to say thank you to all you wonderful supportive people who attended the live stream of the lecture. I hope it went okay. X
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Never underestimate the power of a jury, especially when unshackled and it believes the law is an ass. - Jury acquits Extinction Rebellion protesters despite ‘no defence in law’
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“You had no grounds to arrest (victim) or his sons, nor any grounds to carry out a stop and search. They had done nothing wrong nor behaved in any way that could be deemed suspicious. They were returning from visiting the grave of their partner & mother.”
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This is this kind of blatant injustice that made me enter the law. Just look at the optics. The silence of the Oxford Union speaks volumes. Blind student dragged from Oxford Union chamber 'by his ankles'
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I will honestly say that today will go down as one of those days in my career that was totally unexpected on several fronts. Are we a step closer towards proper closure for the families and those lost souls that have been in so much pain and grief over the last 4.5 decades?
Dramatic turn at
#BirminghamPubBombings
Inquest: convicted IRA bomber names 4 men he says were responsible for bombings, after questioning by our Leslie Thomas QC
@_lesliethomas
representing the bereaved. 1st time alleged bombers named in English court
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The Bar Council’s commissioned report on Barrister’s working lives makes very uncomfortable reading e.g “Female barristers were three times as likely as male barristers to have experienced bullying, harassment, and discrimination in person.” And it’s worse for women of colour.
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Why are Blk people often made to feel guilty when they raise subject of race? Why are we often left to raise the issue, even in high profile causes/cases. Why are our concerns so readily dismissed with let’s raise something more acceptable eg class, as if race & class not linked.
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What does a lawyer wear to work? A lawsuit!
I know it is stupid. But it made me giggle and groan out loud, it was so bad. Can't be deadly serious all the time can we? Hey, I know share your bad lawyers' jokes. I have a feeling I'm going to regret this tweet.
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Trevor Noah. “Black people are looking for equality, not charity. They’re not asking people to ‘hire black people’ just because they’re black, they’re asking companies to stop not hiring black people just because they’re black.”
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I’m absolutely delighted.
I am extremely pleased to announce that we have appointed Prof Leslie Thomas QC as a Visiting Professor in Law at Goldsmiths:
@_lesliethomas
@GreshamCollege
@FCorner
@GoldsmithsUoL
@UoLondon
@gardencourtlaw
@thebarcouncil
#goldsmiths
#BlackLivesMatter
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Not all lawyers are motivated by money. The job has a lot of disappointment, tears & injustice. But with each failure pick yourself up, dust yourself down & repeat 'do right and fear no one'. Steady and brace yourself for the next fight. Pre-order here:
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Want to be a barrister? Need a mentor to give you sound advice and instructive guidance? Are you from a financial/disadvantaged background? Can you write persuasively? Oh and would £4,000 help? Look no further see below. Another great initiative promoting diversity in the law.
Bar Scholarships. Not just for Sikhs – for wannabe barristers from financial/disadvantage backgrounds. Pls RT!
@thesikhway
@MartinSLewis
@ChamDiversity
@hm_hashi
#SMBP18
#SocialMobility
@SocialMobilityF
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20 years ago today (2/10/00) saw the introduction of the Human Rights Act. It has changed the way we investigate killings by state agents. The right to life under article 2 now has teeth. We can even sue for wrongful deaths. We couldn’t before
@GreshamCollege
@gardencourtlaw
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“Racism in the justice system has to be acknowledged & fought by those at the highest level... ...It is impossible to have diversity and inclusion if the system unfairly discriminates.” Keir Monteith KC
@gardencourtlaw
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Met Police “We don’t target young black males with stop & search.”
Yeah right!
The Stats & Reality - “This clearly does not represent evidence-based policing or intelligence-led policing. It indicates it has become more random than it was before.”
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Well I have to say I’m shocked as this came completely out of the blue. Well done to my colleagues
@NShotunde
@iam5hina
@Metienne12
for their nominations. All amazing barristers leading the way with the diversity agenda at the bar.
@gardencourtlaw
@ChamDiversity
Congrats to GC barristers shortlisted in the
#ChambersBarAwards
2020!
@_lesliethomas
QC is shortlisted for 'Outstanding Contribution to Diversity & Inclusion'. Natasha Shotunde (
@NShotunde
) & Shina Animashaun (
@iam5hina
) are shortlisted for 'Future Leader: Diversity & Inclusion'.
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Here’s the footage. Now all of you who yesterday were pushing back when I said outlaw all chokeholds without exception, I defy anyone to justify this use of force. The point is instructions to officers is confusing &opaque. Ban all forms neckholds. They’re dangerous. NOW!
"Get off my neck."
Footage has emerged that appears to show a police officer kneeling on the neck of a Black man in London on Thursday 16 July.
The man was detained and arrested in Islington.
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I have a feeling that 2021 will be an amazing year. Yes the bar is low given the poor situation in 2020. My resolutions: 1. Be a better me. 2. Try to make the world a better place. 3. Share much positive knowledge as I can. 4. Make the path of those following my footsteps easier.
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“ “The irony of it is so explicit – are you going to drag women off the street for protesting about a woman being dragged off the street?” said Deborah Bestwick, 62.”
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I don’t judge any lawyer for the work they do or reasons that motivated them. We all have different drivers which propel us along in life. But ask yourself what will be my legacy? Not many want to be remembered for just earning a ton of money?
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Let’s break the cycle, barristers & judges don’t have to be male, pale & stale. There is an abundance of untapped, young, vibrant and diverse talent in our state schools. Give them a chance. Providing information is key. The Outreach team
@theInnerTemple
doing the right thing.
Are you in year 12 or 13? Are you interested in learning more about how to become a barrister? We’re holding a seminar on Careers at the Bar on 18 April You’ll have the opportunity to ask practising barristers and judges about their journeys to the Bar.
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Whether you celebrate this festive holiday period or not, 1 thing is clear 2020 wasn’t an easy year. Too many of us lost loved ones, became ill with this virus or many suffered horrible discrimination &inequalities. My wish is we all work & strive for a more equitable & just 2021
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“Less than 4 months into her role, the 1st lady chief justice has shown more inclination to stand up to politicians than many of her male predecessors managed across their entire tenures.” Sue Carr hits back and tells Sunak: the judiciary won’t be cowed
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It’s out! The unvarnished reality of life in the legal profession for people of colour. Watch, listen, try imagining walking in our shoes & then help to change a system that is not inclusive despite claiming to be. We don’t want pity, but allies and support in this common purpose
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My WAME (white & majority ethnic) legal colleagues, we BAME can’t do it on our own. Let’s stand & work together on an anti racist agenda to achieve real change in law. Thnks
@lincolnsinn
great ‘unvarnished’ discussion last night.
@GreshamCollege
@thebarcouncil
@TheInnerTemple
This excellent meeting on race equality at the Bar & judiciary was recorded & will go on to hosts
@lincolnsinn
YouTube channel. I can’t stress enough that to achieve race equality, we need the "white & majority ethnic" Bar (as
@_lesliethomas
posited as a provocation) to join in.
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‘Child Q school confirms staff were not aware strip search’ - This is madness & magnifies the failings of the school staff. Child Q was in their care. Handing the child over and then turning ‘a blind eye’ as to what the police then did is not a defence
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Let’s call this what it is ‘A UK bill to reduce & take away your rights’. What this government is proposing for us is that we will have lesser rights than the rest of the signatories to the ECHR. Be clear, this is scary totalitarian stuff in broad daylight
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This has been one of those weeks. Inaugural lecture at
@GreshamCollege
on Death at the hands of the State, announcement visiting professorship at
@GoldsmithsLaw
and cracking jury verdict delivering justice for my clients on the Kevin Clarke inquest. Yes I love job as a barrister.
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It is deeply upsetting that in 2018 a family of colour has to face a hostile environment due to deeply racist home office policies but then insult and injury are added to grief when they and their lawyers meet an equally hostile environment in court when searching for the truth.
Dexter Bristol’s family walk out of inquest after submissions on evidence
#HostileEnvironment
policies caused stress which contributed to death were rejected & coroner refused to make
@ukhomeoffice
an interested person.
Our Una Morris
@_umm_
instructed
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Less than 12 hours...
Is it human to feel nervous? ’cause I do! Want to get this right for all my bereaved families I’ve represented. All the clients I’ve given a hug to, held a hand & said be brave. It’s my turn to try to be brave. Where’s my hug & hold my hand?
@GreshamCollege
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Thanks for all the congrats. Feels strange getting an award for doing the right thing the vast majority of right minded decent people all over the planet believe in. A better, more inclusive, diverse and fair world for all people.
@gardencourtlaw
@GreshamCollege
@TheInnerTemple
Winner of the Outstanding Contribution to Diversity and Inclusion award is Leslie Thomas QC of
@gardencourtlaw
A true champion in breaking down barriers and striving to increase the importance of diversity and inclusion. Leslie has kindly sent in this acceptance speech…
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‘Monk is the first officer convicted of manslaughter during the course of his duties in over three decades.’ 30 years to wait for a police conviction for an unlawful killing, says something about our criminal justice system. Dalian Atkinson
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"Britain's court wigs became part of proper court dress in 1685. The trend of wearing wigs was started by Louis XIV to disguise his balding scalp, & was adopted by the upper and middle classes. By the 1820s wigs had gone out of fashion!"
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1 October 2020. Does the State care when it kills one of its own? There’s lots of black people, the mentally ill, and poor dying disproportionately. Why? Come to my inaugural lecture
@GreshamCollege
and I’ll explain why. Online and free. 7 days and counting.
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“He was in pain, was holding his chest. They had the opportunity to restrain him, deescalate.”
family say Met police wrong to Taser man
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There is just so much to unpack here. Where does one start? “Priti Patel hits out at 'dreadful' Black Lives Matter protests”
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“The fact that the driver was black caused him [Casey] to think there was something suspicious, in a way that he would not have thought if the driver had been white.” Met stopped Bianca Williams and family ‘because they’re black’, tribunal hears
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“It’s a flawed and outdated view on racism to believe that the racist is an individual who consciously does not like people based on race and is intentionally mean to them.Such definition is a deflection which protects the system.”
@CounselMagazine
@thebarcouncil
@GreshamCollege
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A good judge can transform lives for the better. A bad judge can ruin lives irreparably. A racist judge is downright dangerous especially one who’s completely oblivious to their biases. Join us tonight for the launch of the new rpt
@gardencourtlaw
@GoodLawProject
@GreshamCollege
We're looking forward to this important event on racial bias and judges tonight at 6pm.
Register here, it's free, you can attend from your living room, and it promises to be a really thoughtful discussion ⤵️
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Diversity isn’t a numbers game. It is a cultural commitment. The legal profession and judiciary must embrace the fact that diverse membership is a plus, since how can a non-diverse legal profession and judiciary instill confidence in and protect the diverse population it serves?
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This will be the mother of all inquiries. The key questions 1. Who’ll chair. 2. What’s the terms of reference. 3. How to define legitimate core participants affected by Covid? The relatives of the dead, long term sick, job losses, businessesgone, BAME deaths, care home etc etc...
Today the PM has announced an independent public inquiry into the handling of the pandemic. Earlier this week our Public Inquiries Team examined the overwhelming arguments in favour of a Judge-led inquiry & the lessons that need to be learnt. Catch up here
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About bloody time - Judges & Magistrates take note! “Sentencers should be aware that there is evidence of a disparity in sentencing which indicates that a higher proportion of BAME offenders receive an immediate custodial sentence than White offenders...”
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"Targeting human rights lawyers is what you get [repressive countries]. When these states attack those defending human rights that’s a really major development-undermining the legitimacy of the legal system & the role of lawyers.” Stephanie Harrison QC
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“The police say they’re serious about rooting out so-called ‘bad apples’, but what this data tells us is that the system itself is enabling & facilitating the behaviour of dangerous officers.” Police ‘enabling dangerous officers’
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Thanks Jo, but the reality is no one person makes diversity happen on their own. This is a joint collaboration amongst us all. It’s an award for all, because we all stand together and are stronger together when we stand up for diversity and what is so obviously the right thing.
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First, Kevin died in 2018 two years before the world had heard of George Floyd. Second, fact check Kevin wasn't tasered. No one, not even the police said so. Third, Kevin was a patient under s.136 Mental Health Act, & not a criminal. These are important facts. Get it right.
@_lesliethomas
I can't breathe seems to be over used these days. He was tasered for resisting arrest..tragic of course but also a criminal.
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Urgent call to young activists future lawyers. How to reform law for the better competition. You’ve got a ton of ideas. Don’t get me going! Only 3000 words by 28/9. Just make your ideas for change ‘desirable, practical & useful’. Oh £4K for your trouble.
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A photo of the deceased when in life, humanises that individual. That person is central to the inquest. S/he is more than just a statistic. Everyone can relate to a photo it brings the person alive. It’s not sympathy but respect for the dead. It’s shameful some forget this.
“It is not my practice to show such photos” says Coroner at the request of bereaved father to show his son’s photograph to the jury. What can possibly be wrong about putting face to the name?When will we see a guidance on this from the Chief Coroner?
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45 mins to go. My son Isaac and his friend Verity are the only people in the audience live due to COVID 19. Last minute checks. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. Register NOW
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“You can’t have a system where people think: well, the person who will represent me, has no idea of my life, my culture, my heritage, what makes me me, the person who’s going to make a life-altering decision, has no idea of my culture, of who I am.”
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Spot on totally agree. Also it completely misses the point Alex was making that defendants shouldn’t be shouted at and treated in that appalling manner by the court staff. Still an incredibly long way to go. All we can do is continue to call these things out.
@_lesliethomas
@EssexBarrister
It shouldn’t matter that person subjected to the systemic discriminatory behaviour is an outstanding scholar. Its reprehensible behaviour for any person to be treated like that because they are black.
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1.1% of QCs and 1% of judges in UK black, according to 2019 data. MOJ:”The dept set up a race disparity team in response to the Lammy rept & funding an edu prog to prepare lawyers from range of backgrounds to apply for judicial office.” Clueless & hopeless
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I’m very proud. We have at Garden Court Chambers four new Queen Counsel today, all women and all stars. More of this diversity is badly needed across the legal profession.
Find out more about our wonder(fully wigged) women. Garden Court's Clare Wade QC, Sonali Naik QC, Amanda Weston QC (
@windmill_tilter
) and
@Brenda_Campbe11
QC appointed Queen's Counsel TODAY!
#GCWomenRock
#QCs
#QueensCounsel
#NewSilks2018
#WomeninLaw
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44 years is a very long time to await answers. We will do our best not to leave any stone unturned during this hearing. The bereaved families have been both patient and dignified in the quest for the truth, and will give the heart breaking pen portraits testimony tomorrow
@KRWLaw
The Birmingham Pub Bombings
#inquest
into the deaths of 21 victims resumes TODAY. Leslie Thomas QC
@_lesliethomas
QC & Tom Stoate
@TomStoate
are representing families who lost loved ones in the bombings. They are both instructed by
@KRWLaw
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‘I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.’ Happy MLK day
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PC Kemp attempted to handcuff the vulnerable Black teenage girl with mental health problems but when this was unsuccessful, he used CS spray less than a metre from her face. “Within seconds he started using his baton... utterly inappropriate force used”.
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“In 2019-20 there were only 12 other Black pupils. Data shows that a Black person applying for a pupillage - with the same grades-has around 1/2 the chance of securing a pupillage as White counterparts.” Ndow-Njie Inspired by
@JoDQC
. Watch on 1/4/21 @ 6pm
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👩🏾⚖️ As
#BlackHistoryMonth
unfolds, legal community please embrace genuine, year-round engagement with Black voices. Go beyond token gestures & build a truly inclusive profession. A month of recognition is a start, but it's daily commitment that truly counts. 🌍
#InclusivityInLaw
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”Why are black men still subject to disproportionate use of force by police? Why are they more likely to die after police contact, particularly when in a mental health crisis? & why have the police resisted scrutiny and accountability since Leon’s death?”
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Courtenay Griffiths QC life time achievement award at the BSN diversity awards. Huge respect to my mentor, former colleague and the fearless and formidable advocate. Truly well deserved. Someone who has dedicated the last 40 years being a voice to the voiceless. I salute you.
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I love this story ’The road may be hard, & sometimes you may want to give up, but don’t. You can achieve anything. If you’re wavering, find someone positive to talk to, or just dig deep into yourself & find your own strength. Don't lose hope/faith.'
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Another day, another police death, another restraint, another case young man, another person of colour, another brother. When I ask when will this stop. Because I’m too weary recounting these stories. Condolences to Moyied Bashir’s family for your loss. Yes
@DebatINQUEST
when?
Another deeply concerning death in Wales of a man who despite not being arrested and was apparently a cause for concern, was handcuffed and put in leg restraints. When will this stop?
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“The family do not believe that the officers would have treated a Caucasian girl child who was on her monthly periods in the same way.” Words fail me….Racism cited as factor in police strip search of girl, 15, at London school
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It's now out. If you missed Monday's
@TheInnerTemple
Reader's lecture. So have a listen and let me know. What would you do to improve institutions? How can we make real change? Thoughts pls
@TheInnerTemple
@GreshamCollege
@GoldsmithsLaw
@gardencourtlaw
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Such criticism is based on fundamental misunderstandings of the purpose of the ‘pen portrait’. It is not for sympathy. Nor is time or money wasted. It is no less than true State recognition of the worth the dead. They are more than a number. They are humanised. They’re loved.
Michael Jones (Solicitor) says too much time has been set aside for the bereaved to commemorate loved ones at
#GrenfellInquiry
. Our Patrick Roche, who represented
#Hillsborough
families, responds in
@thetimes
today. Families will no-longer be "told to sit down & say nothing".
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