I have just looked at my weekly email from the MoJ, and turned immediately, as I usually do, to the judicial appointments and retirements section (I hasten to add that mere JPs are beneath the notice of this bulletin).
Two names stood out: firstly DJ(MC) Cooper, who is better known as 'Custody Cooper' (this blog post explains where the sobriquet came from) and secondly, Justin Phillips, a well known youth specialist from the old West London court (now called Hammersmith). I have heard DJ Phillips speak on occasion, and he is an entertaining chap, being, I suspect, rather proud of the fact that he is seen as a 'character'. He engaged personally with young offenders and might conduct a review of a community sentence or a drug programme in his own room, dressed informally, to show that he was dealing with an individual rather than a paper exercise.
The courts will be the duller for the passing of these two judges, but I do have mixed feelings about members of the District Bench who make idiosyncratic decisions that are out of line with their lay colleagues, constrained as they are by omnipresent guidelines.
Whichever approach is the right one, it ought not to matter to the defendant whether he is dealt with by a DJ or by JPs.
Sadly, though, it does matter to our lords and masters (or ladies and mistresses, to be even-handed), and they it is who make the decisions as to allocation.
ReplyDeleteThe DJ(MC) sitting alone is not judgment by peer, but by a Government employee and lawyer.
ReplyDeleteIf I opt for trial in a Magistrates court by my peers, and I find a DJ; can I object ?
Deleteand what do you think Circuit judges and High Court Judges do?????
DeleteI fully agree that in trials 3 heads are a good idea. But for pleas where we are talking about sentence you can't beat one
I noted your comment on the linked post BS.
ReplyDelete'At 07 August, 2006, Bystander said...
Most old-time policemen yearn for the return of the bollocking stipe.
I had hoped that they were gone.
Perhaps wrongly.'
Most young police officers, and the public in general, long for the return of proper justice. DJ's like Cooper had the respect of almost everyone because they were effective. The weak and watery liberal infestation we have administering our joke of a justice system is treated as such by all.
But you know best, of course.......
The point (i think) is that right or wrong, everyone deserves the _same_ justice. DJs shouldn't go their own way just because they think they're right. Yes right now justice seems to be "financially constrained", but JPs, DJs, etc should all follow the same rules.
DeleteI understand that. My point is we have ineffectual liberal sentencing guidelines implemented by ineffectual liberal JP's, DJ's and judges that provide no consequences for poor behaviour and so persistent offenders treat the whole system as a farce to be be exploited. The odd dinosaur like judge Cooper actually provides those consequences that make offenders, and their representatives sit up and take notice. The rest of the justice system does provide the same justice, which is simply a joke to persistent offenders.
DeleteIn law, DJs are also constrained by the same sentencing guidelines as JPs. In this regard, the law makes no distinction between different sentencers.
ReplyDeleteThe Bail Act is the law that seems most often to be stretched by a minority of DJs
DeleteDid Justice Phillips used to sit at Tower Bridge in the early nineties?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteObiterJ...yes and no. Hopefully, and I say, hopefully, when we follow guidelines we get increasingly consistent in our sentences and the younger JPs seem to be brillinat at the process. DJS have the same guidelines but when you do the same thing day in and day out perhaps they get a bit blurred?
ReplyDeleteTry and work out some DJs sentences and you'll scratch your head....especially if they are 'big' names.
I heard about Justice Cooper from a friend of mine in Customs and Excise, apparently all the defence counsel used to advise their clients when they had Cooper on the bench was "Bring your toothbrush"
ReplyDeleteMust remember to slap in a FoI request for statistics on the rates of appeal and successful appeals from decisions of stipes cf. volunteer benches.
ReplyDeleteMust remember to slap in a FoI request for statistics on the rates of appeal and successful appeals from decisions of stipes cf. volunteer benches.
ReplyDeleteDJ Cooper is already much missed.
ReplyDeleteThe last year I had the pleasure of working in his courts and I only saw a few occasions where his "Custody Cooper" moniker shone through...maybe softening in his later days?! That aside, many people were sent back outside (rather than downstairs!) to reconsider their pleas. A very effective service he provided. And I always got the impression he had taken care in considering the individual behind the offences, as well as the victims. This may have produced some unusual sentences, but from an assessors point of view, they were often spot-on.
His replacements are also quite excellent, but I will always remember & miss the atmosphere in court with DJ Cooper at the helm.
I for one am incredibly sad to see DJ Phillips go, see below!
ReplyDeletehttp://forthedefence.org/2012/04/26/vale-dicere-to-a-brilliant-district-judge/
DJ Cooper has an unfair reputation as Custody Cooper. I routinely appeared before him and he very rarely sent any of my clients to prison and the ones that did go, there was no other choice. He was also good at sorting out the more difficult client. I for one will miss him.
ReplyDeleteJustice, justice- what's that?
ReplyDeleteDoing justice is not slavishly following guidlines without thought, it is doing what is right and if that means departing from what are GUIDELINES then so be it. I would rather be just than slavishly follow something that was patently going to produce an unjust result, but you have to explain why.
There are some whackos out there not only DJ's but there are some seriously unbalanced JP's too