In the outer atmosphere, hovering over Temple, the Evil Lord Chancellor (#failinggrayling) is building his legislative death star. Once complete it will rain havoc on the chambers below, obliterating them.
The publicly funded Bar has about the same defensive capacity as the average ewok. We shake our fists at the evil empire, as MOJ civil servants maraud about Fleet Street in those big walker things crushing stray solicitors and counsel as they go.
There is though hope, Maura McGowan has shown herself handy with a light sabre, Sarah Forshaw and Michael Turner can aim a blaster gun. But still, the power of the dark side of the force is strong.
Return of the Jedi
The most memorable scene of all of the new Star Wars films is when young Darth Vader pops off to Jedi Elementary School and kills of all the ickle Jedi, bottom lips quivered world wide.
And the same is happening now. In March, most young Barristers have a follower hanging onto their coat tails. It’s a pupil barrister generally coming to the end of their non-practicing 6 months of pupillage and about to go into the big bad world and fight for justice.
As a form of informal training they follow about the young Barrister, pick up on tricks of the trade and generally learn when to sit down, stand up and speak and shut up. I know I’m older now, but, to me, there are less younglings about.
Every chambers seems to be advertising for 3rd sixes (barristers who have qualified but not been taken on as tenants) and there would seem to be a genuine thinning at the bottom end of the profession. Despite this, the Bar Council say that the number of criminal law pupillages has remained stable, despite this, not a single chambers outside of the South Eastern circuit offered a ‘criminal law-only pupillage’ this year!
In 2012, 58 criminal pupillages were completed. In the same year there were 88 new silks, at least 30 or so of whom are criminal barristers. The statistics are not good. The profession is not growing it is shrinking. Last year saw the profession lose a number of stalwarts to retirement tired of their treatment.
To borrow from a wise Rabbi
He who refuses to learn deserves extinction.
And, the Bar simply have not reflected on their mistakes. Instead they have allowed the slow erosion of the profession.
Needed now is an old master, someone who has been where the Bar are, someone who knows how important they are to the preservation of justice and democracy in this country. A popular face to unite we Jedi and provide us with our Luke Skywalker to finally defeat the darkside of the force.
We are not going to find our Yoda in a swamp, nor even in a cottage in Buckinghamshire or Surrey. No, we are going to find them in a dusty chambers on the Strand. Somewhere, nestled in the Royal Courts of Justice is our Yoda. One of this country’s most senior criminal law Judges.
Time and time again, the Judiciary have shown that they can dance around politicians of all persuasion and now we need them to stand up for us. If the Judiciary come into the equation and start warning about access to justice (or lack thereof) then there is another powerful voice on side. Time for the Jedi to open their address books…
Word of caution
Asking the Judiciary to speak out and criticise the Government is, to an extent, contrary to democracy, contrary to the separation of powers.
However, the Government have fired enough broadsides at the Judiciary of late, (and more principle less playground FTD) if the Government get their way then access to justice will be limited to such an extent that the protections supposedly enjoyed in a democratic society won’t be enforceable.
So to the Judges:
You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t
Or as Yoda would put it,
Damned you are if you do, damned you are if you don’t
FTD
