Clive James bird’s-eye view from London on Marcus (The Mensch) Einfeld … The prisoner and the judge – repartee in the NSW Supremes … New silk by the yard …Master of the Rolls reflects on Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane … Policing NSW-style – “pull over driver” … Theodora reports
They are all online at Clive’s website clivejames.com . In 2007 he did a ten minute piece on Marcus Einfeld’s $77 speeding ticket and the tragedy that soon unfolded.
Maybe the distance from actual events meant that Clive had a special perspective on the former judge and all he stood for. Hence he tells the BBC listeners that in relation to Einfeld:
It’s all quite a hoot. You get the feeling Clive may have been reflecting quietly on some of his own messes.
He didn’t mention various ancillary bit players, like Angela Liati, the other woman driving Einfeld’s speeding car, or the “spurned prostitute” and garbage bin raider Marie Christos,
Today, we find Marcus appearing on LinkedIn, where he describes himself as an “Independant [sic] Consultant”, with skills and endorsements in “public speaking, research and business strategy”.
For other misunderstandings endured by the National Living Treasure see The Mensch.
There was a sparking exchange half-way through a homicide trial this week, before Justice Stephen Rothman of the NSW Supremes and a jury.
The crown case alleges the accused murdered a fellow inmate at the John Maroney Correctional Centre, Windsor.
A number of prosecution witnesses in the trial are current inmates serving sentences.
One of the inmates was called on Thursday (Dec. 5) by the prosecution – a powerfully built brute of a man who was aggressively resentful at having to give evidence.
End-of-year appointments in Queensland and New Zealand see the market flooded with 17 fresh Queen’s Counsel – nine for Qld and eight for NZ.
It was touching to be advised that Governor Daphnis de Jersey did not sign the paperwork for his son David or the other newly plumed silkies.
David de Jersey last appeared in these pages when he lent Dad his British racing green Mini Cooper World Championship 50 to burn some rubber on Bardon’s hilly terrain.
The bar alerted the rank ‘n’ file today in an emergency message:
For the NZers, Auckland got four new silks, Wellington two, and Dunedin and Rotorua one each.
Happy Christmas to all.
Former Master of the Rolls and Supreme Court justice, Lord John Dyson, has received warm reviews for A Judges Journey, a billet-doux to his life and times in and out of the law.
“Clear, candid and compelling, a memoir for our times,” said Prof. Philippe Sands QC.
The book delivered a few political swipes. About Lord Chancellor Grayling, Dyson wrote:
“I was never convinced that [Grayling] believed that access to civil justice was an important social good or that he really appreciated the importance of the rule of law.”
Liz Truss as justice secretary, simply “was to prove a disaster”.
As for his colleagues on the Supreme Court, he had the “impression that at least some of them wrote judgments to impress each other and to win over colleagues to their point of view. I may have been guilty of this myself.”
Our attention was drawn to his sweep through Singapore, New Zealand and Australia on a judicial lecture tour, delivering speeches with titles like “Advocates as protectors of the rule of law” and “AIJA Oration”.
In Sydney, “We met a number of delightful senior judges including Tom Bathurst, James Allsop and Margaret Beazley. We were disappointed with the cultural fare that Sydney had to offer, although the Museum of Art [sic] contains some lovely indigenous works of art. But we were bowled over by the physical beauty of the city and its setting.”
Then to Melbourne. “Although it is less strikingly beautiful that Sydney, we preferred it. It was culturally more lively and interesting.”
Marilyn Warren invited Lord Dyson to the annual supreme court judges conference in the Yarra Valley.
“After my talk and some questions, the music began. One of the judges played the guitar and performed like an ageing rock star. I had not encountered anything like this before.”
Finally to Brisbane.
“We stayed in the magnificent Governor’s House for four days as guests of Paul and Kay de Jersey … We had a palatial bedroom and staff to attend to our every wish.”
Dyson gave one lecture to the Banana Bending judges and then it was dinner at “a smart restaurant overlooking the river”.
“To my embarrassment, the current chief justice had not been invited, although he had attended the lecture and allowed it to be given in his court. His appointment had been deeply unpopular because it was thought that he was not up to the job. Most of the judges had apparently boycotted his swearing-in. He subsequently resigned. This was a most brutal business.”
Ahh, Timbo. We remember you well.
The NSW Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, under the guiding hand of former justice Fatty Adams, recently furnished reports on serious police misconduct to the NSW parliament.
Operation Trieste was the standout case of recent police abuse investigated by Fatty & Co.
The commission found that two officers engaged in serious misconduct following a traffic stop of two women in a car, in April. There were breaches of s.7 of the Police Act 1990; the NSWPF Code of Conduct and Ethics; and the provisions of the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (LEPRA).
The report advises that the officers should be “considered for disciplinary action”.