judges – Page 4 – cearta.ie

The original Brandeis brief

24 February, 200924 February, 2009

Louis D Brandeis (left), as lawyer, and as judge of the US Supreme Court, championed such unpopular causes as freedom of speech, privacy and worker protection. Arising from his belief that law is a device to shape social, economic, and political affairs, one of his enduring legacies is what has become known as the Brandeis Brief: a legal argument which relies not only on legal argument but also on analysis of empirical data. It was first deployed by Brandeis in Muller v Oregon 208 US 412 (1908), where he marshalled statistics from medical and sociological journals which demonstrated overwork was inimical to the workers’ health to support his argument that legislation limiting hours for female laundry workers was constitutional. The Law School of the University of Louisville is named for Brandeis, and I learn from Dan Ernst on Legal History Blog that Louisville have now made the original Brandeis Brief available online.…

Data protection, sentencing, experts, judges

2 February, 2009

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| judges, Privacy

Law reports from today’s Irish Times:

Data Commissioner’s prosecution can go ahead
Realm Communications Ltd v Data Protection Commissioner: High Court, Judgment was given by Mr Justice McCarthy on 9 January 2009 [2009] IEHC 1

The Data Protection Commissioner did not act unlawfully in issuing summonses against a company using text messages for marketing purposes (Realm) without the consent of the recipients, without having first sought to arrange an amicable resolution between the company and the complainants.

Suspended sentence for burglary not wrong in principle
DPP v de Paor and Zdanowski: Court of Criminal Appeal. Judgment was delivered by Mr Justice Hardiman on 19 December 2008 [2008] IECCA 137

An application by the Director of Public Prosecutions to review the suspended sentence of five years for robbery and false imprisonment imposed on Cuan de Paor – on the grounds that it was unduly lenient – was refused.

Coming to terms with greater role of expert is an edited version of Mrs Justice Fidelma Macken’s remarks at the recent launch of the Law Reform Commission‘s Consultation Paper on expert evidence (pdf).

In short: US Supreme Court upholds immunity of prosecutors [the case is here]; EU Commission criticised; Seminar on construction law; Criminal law conference; Law Society complaints committee; New managing partner at Eversheds

Bonus links from today’s Times Online: Forcing out judges at 70 ‘threatens supreme court’ (the Irish judicial retirement age is also 70); The law lords who served their time (the longest-serving Irish judge was Christopher Palles, Chief Baron of the Exchequer for 42 years between 1874 and 1916).…

More on Madoff, O’Brien, and Restitution

24 January, 200930 January, 2009

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| judges, Restitution

Further to my recent post on Restitution in the news!, two pieces in today’s Irish Times caught my eye:

Breifne O’Brien faces new claims for €997,000

TWO MORE claims have been brought to court against Breifne O’Brien, operator of an investment scheme, for the repayment of money given to him. The latest claims, totalling almost €1 million, will increase to more than €14 million the sums sought from the businessman. Mr Justice Peter Kelly was told yesterday by Alan Doherty, for several claimants, that two other creditors of Mr O’Brien have issued proceedings. This followed the judge’s indication last week that anyone else with claims should move speedily.

Kelly J was busy yesterday, as the other story demonstrates:

Two Irish-listed firms in court bid to recover €1bn

WO IRISH-LISTED investment companies, which gave sums of more than $1.1 billion (€847 million) and €170 million destined for alleged $50 billion fraudster Bernard Madoff and his company to invest in the Irish arm of banking giant HSBC to administer, have initiated Commercial Court proceedings in a bid to get the money back. The holding funds in which the money is held have been frozen. … Mr Justice Peter Kelly … said he believed this was the first litigation here deriving from the “infamous” Madoff bankruptcy and he listed for hearing on Tuesday next applications by the companies to prevent their money being dissipated or removed outside the Irish jurisdiction without leave of the court.

…

Justice in the Media

8 January, 20096 November, 2016

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| Irish Law, judges

It’s an old story by now, but I missed it at the time, and I stumbled upon it today. It begins with a worthy event, the Law Society of Ireland‘s Justice Media Awards, established to give national recognition to legal journalism in various categories. To my mind, the categories are rather narrow, confined as they are in effect to full-time journalists in the traditional media, but that’s a minor quibble which I am sure will be addressed in the future by the addition of a new, more general, category (perhaps named for a significant figure associated with the Society). In any event, the 2008 awards were presented late last year, and at the event Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman of the Supreme Court made a speech which caused some controversy. For example, writing the Irish Times the following day, Carl O’Brien (one of the winners on the night) reported that Hardiman

… has sharply criticised the media for its “inadequate and uninformative” coverage of the courts. Speaking at the Law Society annual Justice Media Awards, he accused the media of rushing to comment on judges’ rulings without properly examining or understanding them.

The Irish Times later published the full text of the speech here.…

Judicial Wigs and Gowns

7 October, 200823 October, 2011

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| Court dress, judges, Law

I wrote a little while ago about plans for most civil judges in England and Wales to cease wearing wigs, wing collars and bands, and to wear radically simplifed judicial gowns. The change was to come into effect from 1 January 2008, but it was postponed until 1 October because because an insufficient number of gowns had been made in time. The revised deadline was met, and from this month, judges in civil and family courts will wear the new dark blue gaberdine robe with velvet facings (right). The colour – gold, red or lilac – of the strips of cloth under the chin (which to my eye recall the eliminated tapes) indicate the level of judge. The designs, by Betty Jackson, raised some controversy when they were first announced, but they seem fine (if unexciting, and distinctly civilian rather than alien) to me. …

The first Monday in October

6 October, 200820 December, 2008

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| judges, US Supreme Court

NPR

CNN

New York Times here and here

Washington Post here and here.

Full size image here.

Back row (l to r): Stephen Breyer, Clarence Thomas (is it significant that he’s looking to his right?), Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Samuel Alito.

Front Row (l to r): Anthony Kennedy, John Paul Stevens (is it significant that he’s looking a little uneasy?), Chief Justice John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, David Souter.

Let the games begin.…

The Judiciary: Who they are and their everyday work

23 September, 200816 January, 2009

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| Conferences, Lectures, Papers and Workshops, Irish Law, Irish Society, judges

The School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin will host a presentation by Prof Sharyn Roach Anleu under the above title at 4pm, Thursday 2nd October 2008, in the Robert Emmet Lecture Theatre (Room 2037, Arts Building (Map)), Trinity College Dublin.

Sharyn Roach Anleu is a Professor of Sociology at Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia, where The Judicial Research Project is undertaking wide ranging socio-legal research concerning the Australian judiciary as a legal and social institution and as a professional occupation. The presentation will examine the social and career background of members of the judiciary and their everyday work to create a picture of the judiciary as a professional occupation, working among and dependent on other professionals, including social workers.

More information is available here (doc), and from the School of Social Work and Social Policy.…

Wigs and Gowns on Judges and Barristers – Silly Anachronism or Necessary Solemnity?

25 July, 200723 October, 2011

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| Court dress, judges, Law

A few weeks ago, Pupilblogger wrote, of the barrister’s wig and gown:

I wore a wig and my gown in combat for the first time today. And the bloody tunic shirt with detachable collars, the wing collar and the bands.

Did I look and feel silly? You bet. I looked no sillier than any other barristers in court, of course, but they are at least used to it by now. …

Next year’s pupilbloggers won’t have to look quite so silly any more. I learn (via ContractsProf Blog and Concurring Opinions) that in England and Wales, the wearing of wigs, wing collars and bands by judges and advocates in civil and family courts, but not in criminal courts, is to be abolished from 1 January 2008, and that judicial gowns are to be radically simplified from the same date. Following a public consultation paper on court working dress, prepared in 2003 (html | pdf) but only released in June of this year, the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers (BBC | wikipedia) took the decision to make life easier for pupilbloggers everywhere. He explained (from the press release):

At present High Court judges have no less than five different sets of working dress, depending on the jurisdiction in which they are sitting and the season of the year.

…