FORKED TONGUE OF JUDICIAL AUTHORITY

Since the far off "golden" days of Hollywood westerns where Tom Mix or Hopalong Cassidy rode the plains with their white stetsons indicating that they were the "goodies" and movie makers had recently invented soundtracks to enhance the audience experience, there was a phrase scripted to one of the "good" indians to describe the lying, cheating, murderous black stetson wearing "baddies"; "You speak with forked tongue".  I believe to this day that that phrase describing the sensory split tongue of snakes is understood by most people: to utter two diametrically opposite opinions or statements more or less simultaneously:  in simple terms to lie whilst pretending to be truthful.  

For one class of people that ability is now a given.  Indeed it is expected that politicians do not, cannot, will not be truthful.  It is built into the profile of politicians to such depth that any form of honesty is itself treated with incredulity by so many.  However there was a single class of respected public servant excluding the previously held high expectations of medical practitioners`  probity who seemed to be above criticism and were beyond reproach.  

Midway through the third decade of this millenium the justice system isn`t just cracked; it`s not just broken.  It is smashed into such tiny pieces that it`s unlikely ever to be reassembled in any form worthy of the name.  As in so many countries authoritarianism creeps steadily along the political pathway to "never in this country, this is England" places thought as foreign to the British way of life just as spaghetti or lasagne were described by a student friend to me when at university, "I never eat that Tally rubbish".  Judges are now openly demonstrating that their so called independence within our unwritten constitution is but a sham.   

The Deputy Senior Presiding Judge, Lord Justice Green who sits on the Appeal Court, has ordered magistrates not to send anyone to custody until 10th September because the prisons are full to exploding. The government orders to the courts i.e. judges, subsequent to the riots were to make an example of what has so far reached over 1,000 alleged or convicted offenders already sentenced to immediate custody or on remand.  On 10th September the government will activate an emergency early release scheme which it estimates will free up 3,700 cell places by 22nd October.  But the judicial snake in the grass is that he commented for the eyes and ears of  magistrates and presumably District Judges [MC] that as the courts "are responsible it is therefore appropriate that the judiciary have regard to the wider functioning of the criminal justice system." He added that, "consideration should be given to rescheduling the hearing for the shortest possible hearing.....but not earlier than 10th September."  But then he went on, "every case must be considered individually and decisions must be made upon the basis of the interests of justice.......and needs to be a carefully conducted exercise."  And thus is demonstrated the accuracy of that description so accurately described by the script writers of another era; "forked tongue". 

Remember Dr Doolittle and that animal the PushMePullYou?  That is just another version of the forked tongue but simplified and animated for children.  But we are not children or watching a 1930s black and white western movie.  We are witness to the historical supposed independence of the magistracy [and judiciary in general] being trashed to accord with the whims of government.