What a friend we have in Jesus
Here is an invitation from the law fellows of Jesus College, Oxford, to a reception. Oh Jesus.
Many thanks to the Guardian for this nice piece about us.
From BBC Two’s “The Scandalous Lady W”. Sigh.
Points West
We are pleased to announce a celebrity addition to the roll of fellow gavellers this week, and one active in our cause. The fine actor Samuel West revealed on Twitter that, during filming of the BBC historico-legal drama Garrow’s Law, he raised an, erm, objection to the use of a gavel on the bench.
@JackofKent I was in an ep of Garrow’s Law where the judge had a gavel and I had to tell them that. But the gavel stayed, unfortunately.
— Samuel West (@exitthelemming) August 3, 2015
(There is a gavel on this bench: it’s somewhere under the amazing fancy dress full bottom wig upon His Lordship, there)
Thanks to another top fellow gaveller, Jack of Kent, for persuading Mr West to follow us.
@JackofKent @igavels No! Followed! Single-issue politics ahoy!
— Samuel West (@exitthelemming) August 3, 2015Ahoy indeed. The subject of his original tweet also prompted a bit of gavel appeasement in the Law Society Gazette.
We say yes, of course it does. If people are to understand the legal system they should understand it as it is. Fictional props help no-one’s understanding.
Whoops.
University of London wants to start a forum for conversations about British legal issues, such as HRA, devolution, and Brexit, but advertises it with an image foreign to every UK court.
Judge Geordie
There is a new programme on the TV channel for young people, MTV, called Judge Geordie.
Its premise is that a former participant in the reality series Geordie Shore, Vicky Pattison, travels around the nation solving its problems.
“I’m going to be a shoulder to cry on; a mediator; the voice of reason”
she says in her trailer (we know that the Ministry of Justice is keen to see more mediation and less litigation, but this is the first instance we have seen of judge-turned-mediator while remaining on the bench).
Can you spot the other problem we might be about to raise?
Into “court” walks Ms Pattison in a red robe (but no wing collar) brandishing a gavel. Now, iGavels happens to have visited Newcastle Crown Court, a modern building on the city’s Quayside. It does not feature any of the wooden furnishings or stonework depicted by MTV.
Furthermore, we note that Ms Pattison appears to be resolving civil disputes. A black gown with red or purple collar, rather than a red high court (or honorary recorder of the crown court) robe is what is needed here.
And of course, no gavel. Because judges don’t use those in Tyneside or anywhere in Britain. If my Lady is satisfied that is sufficient?
We’ll assume that to be the case.
Thanks to Laura and @_Jardy_ for their assistance with this matter.
Gonnae no
Scottish law, civil and criminal, is a very different beast to that of England and Wales. It’s full of glorious terms such as delict, caution (pronounced to rhyme with “station”), and lewd and lascivious. Being English court-goers, we won’t pretend to know much about it*.
What we do know for certain, however, is that as in the rest of the UK, no judge in Scotland uses a gavel. Which led us to react with a deal of surprise to the front page of the National (”The newspaper that supports an independent Scotland”).
It seems that on the website as well as on the front page of the paper edition, its journalists think that a challenge to the election of Alistair Carmichael MP will be adjudicated by a gavel-toting, black-gowned member of HM Judiciary.
You can almost hear the grinding of teeth in the tea room of the Faculty of Advocates.
Here’s tomorrow’s front page. Have a great weekend people! pic.twitter.com/xP7dzu39Hd
— The National (@ScotNational) May 29, 2015*There’s an excellent guide to Scots legal lingo on the Scottish judicial website.
Oh good grief.
100% No Win No Fee claim Solicitor’s Start yours today! Call 0800 071 1100
#Solicitors #Law http://t.co/vvkfCBvHdI pic.twitter.com/rqhZX5XunQ
— PIP Law (@pipsolicitors) March 24, 2015A gavel, random capital letters, and an apostrophe in “solicitors”. Think carefully when litigating, fellow gavellers.
Ooh, Betty
Dozing our way through a recent Sunday afternoon TV repeat, we were jolted into action by the case of R v Frank Spencer, who was up before the beak on a motoring charge in Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em.
Spotted anything?
Perhaps this makes it clear.
Magistrates, like other members of the judiciary in the UK, have never used gavels in court.
Squeeeeeeeeeeal
The Ministry of Justice, a popular subject for the tweetings of fellow gavellers, appears to have blundered into a legal myth.
Didn’t see it first time? Have a closer look.
Oh yes. The irony is that “basic, uncontested claims” would be unlikely to go before a judge, even if they did use gavels. Which, in England and Wales, they don’t.
Lawyers have noticed.
@MoJGovUK @igavels As the department responsible for the Justice please can you let us know why you have used a gavel in your illustration?
— Edward Powell (@EdwardHandA) March 24, 2015@igavels MOJ should know better….? pic.twitter.com/5RaD7wGDQt
— Tracy Luke (@TracyLuke4) March 24, 2015We wonder if the government will put the brakes on inappropriate gavels?
stupid-whiskeydreams