Newsflash: Old People Get Grumpy
A judge in England has had two of his verdicts overturned and one of them thrown out in the past two weeks. While overturned verdicts are admittedly not overly uncommon in countries blessed with appeals systems, these particular decision were overturned (or tossed) because the judge was-- and I quote-- "irritable."
The guy is 72 and seems to have really not like the defense attorneys in any of the three cases. One barrister, for example, had her entire defense dismissed as "rubbish" at the trial's opening. Words like "silliness" and "nonsense" were also regularly tossed in her direction, conduct which, according to the appeals court, sort of violated the judge's neutrality. In another trial, the grumpy old man just ripped endlessly into the defense team:
The guy is 72 and seems to have really not like the defense attorneys in any of the three cases. One barrister, for example, had her entire defense dismissed as "rubbish" at the trial's opening. Words like "silliness" and "nonsense" were also regularly tossed in her direction, conduct which, according to the appeals court, sort of violated the judge's neutrality. In another trial, the grumpy old man just ripped endlessly into the defense team:
"In truth, this trial became over-infused with what appears to have been repeated and unnecessary demonstrations of inappropriate personal animosity towards counsel which involved public criticism not only of her ability, but also of her integrity. These interfered to a marked degree with the normal due process...[A] reading of the transcripts shows that the perception of any reasonable observer present at the trial would have been similarly damaged."While it's reassuring to know that haters like this can have their decisions throw out (and that Boston Legal is in fact not an accurate representation of the legal system), one does wonder why the dude hasn't been fired. I mean, at the moment, he's a pipeline to innocence for anyone who comes before him. Hey, British criminals: ask for Judge Nicholas Medawar QC by name. He'll find you guilty, but don't worry-- you'll walk.
posted by Martha at 1:16 PM
Comments:
Here are some more real life Judge stuff for you.
Some years ago, there was actually a situation in a court in NYC where a judge (I think he was in his 80's) fell asleep and the lawyers and court personel were afraid to wake him up.
You see Young Manhattanite Andrew (seriously, are your pubes in yet, or what?), Judges, especially Federal Judges, are the only people in America who are actually ABOVE the law. Federal Judges don't have to obey the law because they have immunity for whatever they do while they are on the bench. And, unless you are a Black Federal judge who was appointed by a Democratic President, the chances of you being removed from the bench are about equal to the chances of someone finding out where Calcanis hid that pot of gold.
I once did a Westlaw search on a Federal Judge in Michigan who I had a case before. I searched "reversed, vacated and remanded" and the Judge's name. What I got was about 10 or 20 cases in which the Judge decided federal lawsuits on information that was not in the records of the cases.
Did you hear me? A Federal Judge repeatedly decided federal lawsuits on information that was not in the records of the cases. In one such case, the Plaintiff in a case in Federal Court before the Judge was an ex-prisoner. And, the judge somehow got ahold of the guy's prison record and read it and used that information to decide the guy's totally unrelated lawsuit.
Be Afraid Andrew. Be very Afraid. Blottered may just get you a long-term relationship with a gang of Black and Puerto Rican Guys who won't be interested in you for your fine White writing style.
Harry Les Trade
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Some years ago, there was actually a situation in a court in NYC where a judge (I think he was in his 80's) fell asleep and the lawyers and court personel were afraid to wake him up.
You see Young Manhattanite Andrew (seriously, are your pubes in yet, or what?), Judges, especially Federal Judges, are the only people in America who are actually ABOVE the law. Federal Judges don't have to obey the law because they have immunity for whatever they do while they are on the bench. And, unless you are a Black Federal judge who was appointed by a Democratic President, the chances of you being removed from the bench are about equal to the chances of someone finding out where Calcanis hid that pot of gold.
I once did a Westlaw search on a Federal Judge in Michigan who I had a case before. I searched "reversed, vacated and remanded" and the Judge's name. What I got was about 10 or 20 cases in which the Judge decided federal lawsuits on information that was not in the records of the cases.
Did you hear me? A Federal Judge repeatedly decided federal lawsuits on information that was not in the records of the cases. In one such case, the Plaintiff in a case in Federal Court before the Judge was an ex-prisoner. And, the judge somehow got ahold of the guy's prison record and read it and used that information to decide the guy's totally unrelated lawsuit.
Be Afraid Andrew. Be very Afraid. Blottered may just get you a long-term relationship with a gang of Black and Puerto Rican Guys who won't be interested in you for your fine White writing style.
Harry Les Trade
# posted by 
: 5:15 PM, July 29, 2005
: 5:15 PM, July 29, 2005
