Defecating on Judges

haz

On Wednesday John Neilan asked if Mr McDowell's comments about "dumping on the judiciary" referred to defecating on judges, saying "his appalling use of the language" begged the question "where was he educated?". Now the judges have boycotted poor Michael's pre-Christmas cocktail party. Is this as low as relations get with an interfering "member of the Executive", or just the trailer to some serious public entertainment in 2007?

civdef

I can't see the judges coming too well out of deciding to stand up against McDowell when he has public and parlimentary support behind him. They should ask the Guards how they fared when they tried it.

mike65

Thier Honours are fools, unelected, fabulously well paid and completely out of touch.

Mike.

Wishbone Ash

mike65 wrote:

Thier Honours

:eek: - Too much US TV Mike. "Their Lordships" here.

haz

Wishbone Ash wrote:

:eek: - Too much US TV Mike. "Their Lordships" here.

Not in this Republic, by Order of the Management:

Instead of addressing a Judge as "My Lord" members of the Superior Courts will now be addressed as "Judge", except in the case of the Chief Justice and the President of the High Court who will be addressed by their titles. In the past where Judges were referred to as "His Lordship", they will now be referred to as "The Court". This development is in accordance with statute law.

http://www.justice.ie/80256E01003A02CF/vWeb/pcJUSQ6P2FLE-en

Wishbone Ash

haz wrote:

Not in this Republic

I know it has changed recently but I was just trying to highlight an error that many Irish people make. In my experience, Irish judges go bananas when adressed as 'your honour'.

(I thought the use of 'judge' was optional and one could still use 'my lord' if one wished? Many Gardaí still use 'my lord'.)

hullaballoo

Mike65 wrote:

Thier Honours are fools, unelected, fabulously well paid and completely out of touch.

No, they're not fools, they are elected (just not by the people, by their representatives), they get paid less than you'd think too (about the average of the lower quartile of members of the bar), and also I'd dipute whether they're out of touch. You're just used to hearing district court decisions.

Wishbone Ash

hullaballoo wrote:

You're just used to hearing district court decisions.

I would have thought that the judges of the District Court Circuit would be most in touch with the underbelly of modern society.

hullaballoo

Wishbone Ash wrote:

I would have thought that the judges of the District Court Circuit would be most in touch with the underbelly of modern society.

Notoriously not.

haz

hullaballoo wrote:

Notoriously not.

Judge James O'Connor demonstrated great command of current affairs when he told a Polish man's interpreter "Don't come in here and look for asylum or whatever status is going and within ten days be engaged in criminal activity. This kind of stuff has to stop. He's in the country ten days and he's already involved in a quite serious, nasty matter." (Tralee District Court, 13/12/2006). Seems in touch with the ignorant underbelly of modern society though.

Wishbone Ash

The late Justice Sean Delap of the Swords District Circuit was very much in touch with what was going on.

mike65

Anyone have any notion of the socio-economic bias of the judges?

I was listening to Ivana Bacik this morning and it struck me if more folks from Moyross and Darndale made it to the bar we would have fewer
hoodlums on the street.

Mike.

Wishbone Ash

mike65 wrote:

if more folks from Moyross and Darndale made it to the bar we would have fewer hoodlums on the street

The Burberry cap would be a change from the wig. "Are yis buzzin". I've visions of Fiat Puntos parked up behind the Four Courts. :eek:

Our man in Havana

Wishbone Ash wrote:

The Burberry cap would be a change from the wig. "Are yis buzzin". I've visions of Fiat Puntos parked up behind the Four Courts. :eek:

Chaz "slasher" Byrne SC sounds scary! :eek:

maidhc

mike65 wrote:

Anyone have any notion of the socio-economic bias of the judges?

a) In Ireland a judge is called..."Judge".

b) Judges parents have generally been lawyers... and farmers.

c) Judges know a lot more about society than most "commentators". They spend many hours every day dealing with every sort of criminal, gangster and hoodlum. Few of our learned journalists spend hours in the district court listening to victims and accused.

d) The independence of the judiciary is a fundamental part of any modern democracy. The existance of McDowell is quite the opposite!

Thirdfox

maidhc wrote:

d) The independence of the judiciary is a fundamental part of any modern democracy. The existance of McDowell is quite the opposite!

That made me laugh out loud!

I was listening to Newstalk last night and they were discussing Justice Hardiman's retort to McDowell - also mentionned how they probably used to have arguments when they were in the same class in the former UCD.

I've got great respect for judges - choosing to serve the community instead of just earning tons of cash, but of course that doesn't mean that everything they do is correct...

Let's see do we have a judicial/executive battle to the death in 2007!

hullaballoo

Judicial Legislature ftw!

mike65

Well they did'nt do themselves any by favours by snubbing the minister en masse - it smacked of childish petulence which what they would damn the Minister as suffering with. Also the discretion they so love and wish to protect could be taken away with the scribble of McDowells pen if he so choose.

Mike.