Nick R
@nr255.bsky.social
Criminal barrister, Tranmere fan, father of two. Obviously not in that order.
With all due respect to Leveson and Lammy, my polite enquiry to both would be when was the last time you were involved in an actual trial in the mags or CC and have you actually thought any of this through?
December 3, 2025 at 9:29 AM
With all due respect to Leveson and Lammy, my polite enquiry to both would be when was the last time you were involved in an actual trial in the mags or CC and have you actually thought any of this through?
And what if there is a dispute about what was said by eg one of the lawyers or one of the mags themselves? Are there going to be appeals where the original judge is a witness saying “I didn’t say that in the original trial” “oh yes you did!”
December 3, 2025 at 9:27 AM
And what if there is a dispute about what was said by eg one of the lawyers or one of the mags themselves? Are there going to be appeals where the original judge is a witness saying “I didn’t say that in the original trial” “oh yes you did!”
Which means no disputes about what actually happened.
How will this work in appeals from the mags? Are we getting recording of all mags cases now? I haven’t seen that proposed - would be £££. So will everyone now be told to keep verbatim notes? If so, that will slow mags trial down significantly
How will this work in appeals from the mags? Are we getting recording of all mags cases now? I haven’t seen that proposed - would be £££. So will everyone now be told to keep verbatim notes? If so, that will slow mags trial down significantly
December 3, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Which means no disputes about what actually happened.
How will this work in appeals from the mags? Are we getting recording of all mags cases now? I haven’t seen that proposed - would be £££. So will everyone now be told to keep verbatim notes? If so, that will slow mags trial down significantly
How will this work in appeals from the mags? Are we getting recording of all mags cases now? I haven’t seen that proposed - would be £££. So will everyone now be told to keep verbatim notes? If so, that will slow mags trial down significantly
Also on a practical level, the mags is not a court of record, which means nothing is tape recorded. The only record of what went on is the notes of those present, and they frequently don’t tally. In the CC, everything is tape recorded so on appeal, there will be transcripts of the relevant bits
December 3, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Also on a practical level, the mags is not a court of record, which means nothing is tape recorded. The only record of what went on is the notes of those present, and they frequently don’t tally. In the CC, everything is tape recorded so on appeal, there will be transcripts of the relevant bits
Possibly they don’t care cos these are only minor offences…. but not if they are increasing mags sentencing powers
December 3, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Possibly they don’t care cos these are only minor offences…. but not if they are increasing mags sentencing powers
It is v v hard to get permission to appeal and v v v v hard to actually successfully appeal. Almost always you are stuck with whatever happened in the CC.
Is this what is envisaged with appeals from the mags? If so that is a massive, massive change
Is this what is envisaged with appeals from the mags? If so that is a massive, massive change
December 3, 2025 at 9:27 AM
It is v v hard to get permission to appeal and v v v v hard to actually successfully appeal. Almost always you are stuck with whatever happened in the CC.
Is this what is envisaged with appeals from the mags? If so that is a massive, massive change
Is this what is envisaged with appeals from the mags? If so that is a massive, massive change
In order to appeal from the CC you need to get permission - there has to have been (paraphrasing) a significant error and it has to have been an error that actually affected the outcome. The attitude is that we give you a fair trial but you only get one go at it and the jury’s verdict is respected
December 3, 2025 at 9:27 AM
In order to appeal from the CC you need to get permission - there has to have been (paraphrasing) a significant error and it has to have been an error that actually affected the outcome. The attitude is that we give you a fair trial but you only get one go at it and the jury’s verdict is respected
The first comment is the fact that automatic appeals exist *at all* is an indication of the level of confidence the system has in the verdicts of the mags. The mags gives you a speedier process but with this important safeguard. V dangerous to remove it
December 3, 2025 at 9:27 AM
The first comment is the fact that automatic appeals exist *at all* is an indication of the level of confidence the system has in the verdicts of the mags. The mags gives you a speedier process but with this important safeguard. V dangerous to remove it
Another reason will be that if you draw more cases into the mags, you also creating more appeals, so they will think they need to nip that in the bud too
December 3, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Another reason will be that if you draw more cases into the mags, you also creating more appeals, so they will think they need to nip that in the bud too
Appeals (against both conviction and sentence) are actually quite common and take up a fair bit of CC time - I suspect that is the reason for this suggested form.
December 3, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Appeals (against both conviction and sentence) are actually quite common and take up a fair bit of CC time - I suspect that is the reason for this suggested form.
This feels like an idea that hasn’t properly been thought through.
As has been noted, there is currently an automatic right of appeal from the mags to the CC. Takes the form of a complete re-trial. Whilst there is in theory a chance of a higher sentence, my experience is that this rarely happens.
As has been noted, there is currently an automatic right of appeal from the mags to the CC. Takes the form of a complete re-trial. Whilst there is in theory a chance of a higher sentence, my experience is that this rarely happens.
December 3, 2025 at 9:27 AM
This feels like an idea that hasn’t properly been thought through.
As has been noted, there is currently an automatic right of appeal from the mags to the CC. Takes the form of a complete re-trial. Whilst there is in theory a chance of a higher sentence, my experience is that this rarely happens.
As has been noted, there is currently an automatic right of appeal from the mags to the CC. Takes the form of a complete re-trial. Whilst there is in theory a chance of a higher sentence, my experience is that this rarely happens.
This is like if they announced they were changing the voting system because they had worked out they could save money on polling booths or something. They are arguments for and against a change but they are not seeking to make them and this is not the reason to do it!
November 25, 2025 at 8:17 PM
This is like if they announced they were changing the voting system because they had worked out they could save money on polling booths or something. They are arguments for and against a change but they are not seeking to make them and this is not the reason to do it!
I’m not saying they don’t have justice in France - of course they do - but this reform isn’t even an attempt at a critique of the British system, it’s just that someone has noticed they can save a bit of money
November 25, 2025 at 8:14 PM
I’m not saying they don’t have justice in France - of course they do - but this reform isn’t even an attempt at a critique of the British system, it’s just that someone has noticed they can save a bit of money
This is a false comparison though. European justice systems have *completely* different approaches at all stages - it is not simply our system but with judges not juries
November 25, 2025 at 8:10 PM
This is a false comparison though. European justice systems have *completely* different approaches at all stages - it is not simply our system but with judges not juries
Sorry if you have already done this but have you tried pressing the metal emergency key against the ignition button (with clutch down) to start it? When the batteries on our keys went, we could still start the car doing that
August 29, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Sorry if you have already done this but have you tried pressing the metal emergency key against the ignition button (with clutch down) to start it? When the batteries on our keys went, we could still start the car doing that
SGs were 2020. Agree re the offence - we need specific offences for online activity. There are other similar issues eg sending a celeb a racist tweet is obviously horrible, but it’s different to sending a racist letter or making a racist phone call, but it’s the same offence that would be charged
June 1, 2025 at 9:26 PM
SGs were 2020. Agree re the offence - we need specific offences for online activity. There are other similar issues eg sending a celeb a racist tweet is obviously horrible, but it’s different to sending a racist letter or making a racist phone call, but it’s the same offence that would be charged
It’s tricky. If an offence is worth 31 months, it would almost be perverse for the CPS not to prosecute. The whole period was very reminiscent of the 2011 riots when all discretion and due process basically went out the window.
June 1, 2025 at 9:12 PM
It’s tricky. If an offence is worth 31 months, it would almost be perverse for the CPS not to prosecute. The whole period was very reminiscent of the 2011 riots when all discretion and due process basically went out the window.
I think even asking whether it was right to prosecute, it’s hard to overlook that, in the end, she admits she was trying to incite racial hatred. FWIW I agree the sentence was way too long
June 1, 2025 at 9:03 PM
I think even asking whether it was right to prosecute, it’s hard to overlook that, in the end, she admits she was trying to incite racial hatred. FWIW I agree the sentence was way too long
Spending any time at all pondering her guilt is time wasted - even she doesn’t say she is innocent
June 1, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Spending any time at all pondering her guilt is time wasted - even she doesn’t say she is innocent
I think a more fundamental problem is that through her plea, *she* accepted it *was* her intention to incite racial hatred and, given what she said, the racial hatred she intended to incite must have been quite serious. If she never really meant it, she should have pleaded not guilty
June 1, 2025 at 8:56 PM
I think a more fundamental problem is that through her plea, *she* accepted it *was* her intention to incite racial hatred and, given what she said, the racial hatred she intended to incite must have been quite serious. If she never really meant it, she should have pleaded not guilty
No one on earth was waiting for a live action SW. The original is awful. I don’t doubt it’s historical significance but when my kids watched it they wandered off, bored. It’s a film everyone has this vague sense of but can’t actually remember and then you watch it and go oh god thank you modernity
March 25, 2025 at 8:40 PM
No one on earth was waiting for a live action SW. The original is awful. I don’t doubt it’s historical significance but when my kids watched it they wandered off, bored. It’s a film everyone has this vague sense of but can’t actually remember and then you watch it and go oh god thank you modernity