Lex Ferenda I was dismayed to see the funeral of Mark Duggan today. His family insist he was no gangster but we had a funeral akin to one of the Krays. I was pleased to hear some of the church leaders involved in the ceremony speaking out against violence and recriminations. I am not surprised  [ Read More ]

Bystander John Thornhill, the MA chairman, is quoted in yesterday’s ‘Times’ (paywalled, I’m afraid) as defending magistrates against allegations of ‘conveyor-belt justice’ and over-harsh sentencing in riot cases. Once again, he did not go out of his way to stress that magistrates had little to do with it, as almost all of these cases have  [ Read More ]

Lex Ferenda There has been some concern expressed from some quarters, including here, regarding the sentencing of those involved in the recent riots. Personally, I feel the District Judges and Crown Court Judges have not been politically influenced. I rather suspect that, having been constrained for years by our ludicrous sentencing guidelines, the Judges have  [ Read More ]

Lex Ferenda If you want to make yourself really angry, violently sick or even both, read this article by Tony Blair in The Observer today. Tony doesn’t think the riots are anything to do with moral decline, it’s all about Tony. He had a plan to solve the whole issue of the underclass. The blueprints  [ Read More ]

Henry Hill Two zoo keepers are discussing a recent tragedy. For a long time they have prided themselves on the openness of their zoo: the animals are orderly, the visitors safe, restraints few. Unlike zoos in other countries, they have not needed to use iron bars and electric tags to control their animals. Their reputation  [ Read More ]

Winston Smith Since the riots have subsided the excuse makers have been busy trying to find justification for the feral mobs that burned working and middle class families out of their homes as well as laying destruction to local businesses and people’s workplaces. Wednesday’s Guardian gives a few of them a platform in which to  [ Read More ]

Bystander It’s been another night when courts have sat to deal with those arrested in connection with the riots. A couple of thoughts occur: The great bulk of the cases have been handled by District Judges. Some lay justices’ noses have been put out of joint by this, but it was probably inevitable, firstly because  [ Read More ]

Lex Ferenda The Good You cannot help but admire the bravery and dignity of, Tariq Jahan, the father of one of the three young men killed in Birmingham on Tuesday night. How he managed to hold it together and speak to the media, I do not know. Rather than demanding justice he simply asked for  [ Read More ]