The Briscoe affair will be settled tomorrow by a judge. (it was - 16 months )
I have no comment on that, but on a human level, I remain baffled as to what can have motivated Ms. Briscoe. I am not a lawyer, but over the years I have worked and socialised with a great number of them. Ms. Briscoe was a Recorder of the Crown Court and over the years I have often sat on appeals with Recorders such as her. On the whole I have been impressed by their professionalism and dedication. Personalities and styles may differ widely but when it comes down to the law and to dissecting evidence, I have always been happy that we were going in the right direction.
So knowing what she knows, and given her presumed understanding of judicial culture, I cannot imagine what was going through her forensically trained mind when she made the fatal decisions that she did.
Was it misguided loyalty to a friend? Hubris? Something Else?
It is sad whichever way you look at it.
It is extraordinary the risks that individuals seemingly take with their reputation. Her legacy will now be the results of this affair, the work that she has done previously forgotten. Far from an isolated case given the Lords with wealth that fiddle their expenses for out of town living allowance and again besmirch all their previous good works.
ReplyDeleteShe got 16 months inside apparently...career over.
ReplyDelete"Career over" - really?
DeleteJust how many of the "great and good" who have been jailed has this happened to?
Compare and contrast the answer with the same question asked about the ordinary person ...
Really. She was a barrister and judge. She may start a new career, but as far as the law is concerned, it's game over.
DeleteI've met Constance a few times both in court and socially. I can tell you that she is quite mad. In fact, when I first met her the barrister who introduced us told me after that "she is crazy but that's what I like about her".
ReplyDeleteI have no more idea what went through her mind than I can explain any of her other actions, few of which make much sense to me.
But, of course, because this one has been caught/exposed/publicised automatically means that the entirety of her (former) profession are corrupt.
ReplyDelete*end sarcasm*