SHOULD SENIOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS BE VOTED FOR INSTEAD OF BEING APPOINTED?

Fact 1: When I was appointed in 1998 the application form had a section asking which political party had I voted for in the previous general election. 

Fact 2: That question has long been omitted from application form

Fact 3: Religious affiliation is not an admissible necessity  

Fact 4: Local Advisory Committees have some of these statistics

Fact 5: Freedom of Information Request to release those statistics not honoured.

Re Fact 5 above please find copied below reply:-

24 October 2022

Dear Ms 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request – 220927003

Thank you for your request dated 27 September 2022 in which you asked for the following

information from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ):

Dear Advisory Committee on Justices of the Peace for London,

1.Please publish any material received from any other relevant authority relating to

the appointment criteria for those of black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

2. How many JPs have been appointed in the last five years for which statistics are

available?

3. How many of of those re 2. above were of BAME identification?

4. How many of those re 2. above considered themselves Muslim on application?

Your request has been handled under the FOIA.

The MoJ does not hold any information in the scope of your request. This is because the

local Advisory Committees of Justices of the Peace are separate public authorities for

purposes of the FOIA. The MoJ may provide some services, such the provision of IT; but in

terms of recruitment (the subject of your enquiry) a Committee is its own public authority.

The MoJ (including HM Courts and Tribunal Services, which is an executive agency of the

MoJ) cannot answer for a Committee in this regard.

On November 21st 2022 an appeal against the refusal was confirmed.

On 22nd March 2023 there was an F.O.I. request as follows copied below: It seems that between November 2022 and March 2023 MOJ removed copy compliant facility of replies. This has necessitated using other publicly available means to paste relevant information:

So far so good or so it appears but further on there is this again copied below:-

Note the last two words above; "future publication". The final extract below from the reply is again by necessity a JPG from publicly available information.  The link highlighted is unavailable. 

The only conclusion is that the MOJ does not want we, the public, to know the religion if any of those who sit in judgement upon us. Richard Page ex JP was sacked for expressing his judicial opinion was based on his Christian beliefs. Until the early years of this century few of those involved in any way with the religious component of those on the bench high or low paid much attention to whether they worshipped a deity or not.  But  in 2024 a week before an election and eight months since an atrocity which has exposed the underlying hatred of Jews by many Muslims and the subsequent ouvert identity politics involving Muslims being persuaded by their peers and Imams to vote according to their preferred candidates` positions on the war against Hamas things are very different. The second most senior magistrate in the country, a Muslim,  has been subject to a formal warning of misconduct for his social media activities liable to indicate his partisan (Islamic) approach to justice. 

As readers will be aware, judges in USA are elected; the public has virtually the contenders` biographies and legal histories upon which to make a choice.  In this country such people are appointed by "the great and the good".  However we know to our shame and cost that supervisory bodies of all manner of industries and professions have been failing for decades with only the most heinous cases ever hitting the headlines Grenfell, Hillsborough and in the worst maternity scandal in the history of the NHS over two decades at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust hundreds of babies were left brain damaged or dead. Bereaved mothers were blamed for the deaths of their babies.  The Post Office and Blood scandals have yet to reach their public climax. Last week the Chief Constable of Northamptonshire was exposed as a liar and fraud in the qualifications he had submitted prior to his appointment.   Northamptonshire Police Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone, who was voted in to replace disgraced Stephen Mold – the man who oversaw the appointment of Mr Adderley – promised residents it wouldn’t happen again.  But this malfunction has happened in previous cases of Chief Constables being sacked. 

To conclude this post I leave readers with the question of whether in the light of current and historic circumstances supervisory bodies and those responsible for the appointment of the most senior responsible positions in society would do their jobs much more efficiently if they were accountable to being voted in or out by those over whom they have such onerous responsibilities. 

J.P. aka JERIMIAH OF THE PESSIMISTS

About six or seven years after my appointment my disillusionment with the Magistrates Association became such that I let my membership to that organisation lapse.  My grievances were that it purported to be representative of magistrates but could rarely amass more than 80% membership from those eligible but more to the point did everything possible to keep that knowledge private and within a small number of those privileged to know the reality.  That silent coterie usually included those next in line for appointments with the knowledge of a gong for the chairman a dead certainty.  In a personal capacity I had offered suggestions for utilising the abilities of members to further the efficiency of the organisation.  Some months later that approach was carried forward as if it were the brainchild of those at the top table.  A forum set up by a member in the early 2000s where members could exchange ideas and opinions was taken over by the M.A. but closed down some months later.  Dissent had to be controlled and terminated.  As a contributor to Twitter X I have been blocked by the M.A.  So it is with some surprise that today I have stumbled across a statement from said organisation with which I can find no objection.  It is available  here.  The writer might be blowing in the wind with a wish list that is highly unlikely to be any more than that but at least current deficits from magistrates` points of view are in the public eye. 

All too often it seems that what might be termed minor altercations get out of hand and one party swings a punch at another. Sadly, if only occasionally, that single punch can and has caused serious injury or death.  Over the years calls have been made to place the tragedy of single punch death as a stand alone offence. A recent incident is a sad example. However,  An interesting article from a publication I`ve never heard of is enlightening. 

Recently I attended the West End production of Les Miserables being seated just a few rows from the orchestra.  Unknown to me self righteous protesters from Just Stop Oil on the day after my visit to the show had been found guilty of causing criminal damage and aggravated trespass last September.  My point today is posing the question as to when such activities develop from so called "activism" to fascism.   

There can be few reading this who are unaware that the Lord Chancellor recently notified sentencers that they should keep in mind that the prisons are literally overflowing with offenders and there is no spare capacity.  If that were akin to the boy crying "wolf" then be assured there really is a wolf this time. For what other reason could this offender not be sentenced to immediate custody? 

Shortly after July 4th we will have a new government.  It is also not unlikely that we will have as an MP a man who probably has had more influence from outside Westminster on major government decisions and activities than many cabinet ministers.  But can any reader honestly believe that whilst we live in hope our once honoured and revered justice system will not fall further into decline?   

Just call me J for Jerimiah of the P for Pessimists.   

IT was THE BEST OF TIMES//NOW IT is THE WORST OF TIMES

I`m old enough to remember occasionally reading in newspapers of the abject state of the judicial system in India where thousands of untried defendants were languishing in ancient prisons built during the Raj unlikely to have their day in court not just for many months but for many years.   The daily average number of adults in prison custody in England and Wales in 1974 was 26,234. This figure represents 78 adults per 100,000 in the population. In April 2024, the prisoner population of England and Wales stood at 87,481 while the operating capacity of prisons was 88.889. In 2022 there were 159 per 100,000.  These numbers are just a snapshot at the hard end of our justice system. But what of the other end?

Governments and legal sources with their in built biases have for generations told the British public that their legal and justice system is a system of which they cannot be too proud: that it has been exported to many countries mainly from the days of the Empire for which these now independent nations are forever grateful.  We are also told not just that the system is a glowing testament to the British concept of "fair play and fairness" but that the practitioners within that system can hold their heads up high with pride in their probity and efficiency.  Tell that to the people of Hong Kong (in a whisper behind closed doors) and they would laugh and cry simultaneously if they were able as confusing thoughts and emotions compete with each other in a manner with which the brain cannot cope.  They would cry at the naivety of the British government when it handed the colony back to China according to the terms of the agreement signed in 1898 when Britain obtained a 99-year lease for the New Territories.  They would laugh at the thought that amongst some others, bigwigs of the British judiciary since 1997 have been presiding over Chinese imposed legislation in Chinese courts over Hong Kong citizens accused of transgressing that Chinese legislation; legislation which is designed to stifle any aspect of what our society terms free speech.  Information of these former judges from the highest ranks of British judiciary was first posted  here 16th March 2021.  There was an update on 8th March 2022.  

In the last few days without any major announcement  former Canadian Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin and UK judges Lord Jonathan Sumption and Lord Lawrence Collins have resigned from Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal.  What has taken them so long to leave the posts which any reasonably minded person could see was a fig leaf to cover the totalitarian nature of the Chinese so called government which was following the processes of similar dictatorships of the modern era?  

At all levels owing to financial starvation since 2010 and an unashamed arrogance of many practitioners the legal system is floundering where it matters; at the lower end of the spectrum whilst a relatively few exorbitantly overpaid  solicitors and barristers snaffle millions from representing Russian oligarchs trying to keep their ill gotten billions and ridding themselves of their trophy wives.  And there are many others with pockets filled with gold from the Arabic speaking world to keep busy other experts in Chancery Lane in exchange for $$$$$ Roubles or Rials.  

And then we have The Criminal Cases Review Commission; supposedly the last stop in the journey of ensuring justice has been done.  This was a subject posted here 5th September 2023.   Since then the Post Office scandal has had some light shone upon those lawyers within the company who failed in their obligations to their profession and to  judges who were reticent in exercising their powers of intervention when such intervention would likely have saved the heartache to which many postmasters were brutally subjected.  

The case of Andrew Malkinson is perhaps the most telling of miscarriages of justice this century.  Every professional involved must share some blame for his being in the Kafkaesque situation of being kept in prison despite evidence available to throw doubt on his conviction because he refused to admit his "guilt".  Perhaps those involved in this disgraceful process hadn`t read "The Trial".   

The iniquities of the Single Justice Procedure have been exposed here many times and don`t need to be repeated. The failure of judges to sentence appropriately for knife crime, the "shoplifters go free" policy set down by MOJ, the failure of the Metropolitan Police in particular to clamp down hard on racist abuse during supposedly peaceful but intimidating  marches and the aforementioned  sentencing to suit prison accommodation available are just some of the factors which are now the accepted norm in our society.  

It would take the proverbial optimist high on whatever favourite substance addled his/her brain to think any future government would be able to turn around this sorry state of affairs.  Meanwhile an ever increasing minority would like to impose sharia law on this country and are beginning to exercise their electoral muscle to this effect.  

Salam alaikum.

ADDENDUM 14.00 11th June 2024

Latest update on the Post Office Inquiry courtesy of the Law Society Gazette

ADDENDUM 14.00 18th June 2024 courtesy of the  LawSocietyGazette 

DOES 2024 = 1984?

Having a chat recently over a bottle of a 12 year old Glenlivet with some friends about when something is woke or not woke I happened to mention that on one occasion in the retiring room I commented to a colleague with whom I was on a level just slightly more informal than "just a colleague" that her outfit of red jacket and black skirt was a colourful combination which in the insect world would indicate that "I am poison or I can sting so don`t try to eat me."  She was amused and promised not to bite.  

With our common interest we tried to get together once or perhaps twice a year.  There were six of us of whom two were female one under 40 and the other a retiree like myself.  One male was also retired and the other two were I suppose yet to hit 40. Their reactions to my light hearted remark were unsurprising.  The older woman smiled and agreed entirely with my frivolity and confessed that in her younger days she had a section of her wardrobe to contain her "power outfits" amongst which when she still had a figure to flaunt would usually be a black skirt to be worn with a red or yellow top or jacket. Our other female attendee was smiling rather sardonically at this and said if she had been spoken to like that at her place of work a complaint to her HR manager would have been made at the speed of light.  Of my three male imbibing companions my contemporary snorted that the world if it hasn`t gone mad was at the entrance to the asylum. The other two thought in the nicest possible way that we were a bunch of fogeys.  I suppose that in microcosm they were correct which brings me to the reality of what happens when innocent remarks in some circumstances are as divorced from reality as are members of the Flat Earth Society.  

The employment tribunal case of Yuanyuan Zhang is interesting owing to its focal point being the use of the term frumpy to describe a woman`s appearance.  The tribunal judge is quoted as saying, "such a comment was unwanted comment related to sex".  Owing to her claim being time barred it was rejected.  A report is available  here. 

With millions of Britons proudly hosting names from their or their ancestors` homeland be it Afghanistan or Zambia or all places in between it`s unsurprising that many good hearted English people notorious for lacking linguistic abilities sometimes struggle in that department.  Indeed a now deceased member of my family solved that issue by asking associates to call him Davy.  It seems, however, that common sense and simple mutual respect are increasingly rare commodities nowadays.  In fact the former was a requirement when I was appointed to the bench but went missing about ten years later.  Viveak Taneja was left "angry and upset" when Dana Davies incorrectly called him "Vikesh".  He was sacked as an area sales manager and subsequently was awarded over £9,000 when the tribunal judge ruled that his dignity had been violated. There is a very full report here.  

There is no doubt that every generation since flint was the most precious of stones thinks that the succeeding generation is lacking in some skills or another. However the apparent current obsession with offence being deconstructed to mean any tiny detail of criticism which reaches the eyes or ears vaguely in the direction of a woke receptive individual is now being used for social, financial or political gain.  Until July 4th the manufactured and meaningless word islamophobia is going to be heard many times daily when observers note the identity politics being pursued in some constituencies.  Perhaps we are fortunate that woke is still relatively benign but then so was Das Kapital in 14 September 1867 or Mein Kampf in 18 July 1925.  

When the word genocide is being deliberately misused to foster hate and truth is being seen to be falsehood we truly are nearing the reality of George Orwell`s nightmare. Does  2024 = 1984?  Perhaps there is still hope for old fogeys and the rest of the population.