The public image of judges has been stuck in a time warp; they are invariably depicted in the media - and derided in public bars up and down the country - as 'privately educated Oxbridge types', usually 'out-of-touch', and more often than not as 'old men'. These and other stereotypes - the judge as a pervert, the judge as a right-wing monster - have dogged the judiciary long since any of them ceased to have any basis in fact. Indeed the limited research that was permitted in the 1960s and 1970s tended to reinforce several of these stereotypes. Moreover, occasional high profile incidents in the courts, elaborated with the help of satirists such as 'Private Eye' and 'Monty Python', have ensured that the 'old white Tory judge' caricature not only survives but has come to be viewed as incontestable. Since the late 1980s the judiciary has changed, largely as a result of the introduction of training and new and more transparent methods of recruitment and appointment. But how much has it changed, and what are the courts like after decades of judicial reform? Given unprecedented access to the whole range of courts - from magistrates' courts to the Supreme Court - Penny Darbyshire spent seven years researching the judges, accompanying them in their daily work, listening to their conversations, observing their handling of cases and the people who come before them, and asking them frank and searching questions about their lives, careers and ambitions. What emerges is without doubt the most revealing and compelling picture of the modern judiciary in England and Wales ever seen. From it we learn that not only do the old stereotypes not hold, but that modern 'baby boomer' judges are more representative of the people they serve and that the reforms are working. But this new book also gives an unvarnished glimpse of the modern courtroom which shows a legal system under stress, lacking resources but facing an ever-increasing caseload. This book will be essential reading for anyone wishing to know about the experience of modern judging, the education, training and professional lives of judges, and the current state of the courts and judiciary in England and Wales.
| ISBN | 1849462399 | | Pages | 478 | | ISBN13 | 9781849462396
(What's this?) | | Weight (grammes) | 860 | | Publisher | Hart Publishing | | Published in | Oxford | | Imprint | Hart Publishing | | Height (mm) | 234 | | Format | Hardback | | Width (mm) | 156 | | Publication date | 30 Sep 2011 | | Spine width (mm) | 35 | | DEWEY | 347.42014 | | Academic level | General | | DEWEY edition | DC22 | |
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1. Introduction 2. Images of Judges 3 Where Do English andWelsh Judges Come From? 4. The First Step on the Ladder: Becoming a Part-time Judge 5. Becoming Her Majesty's Judge 6. Training 7. Judges'Working Personality 8. Criminal Business: District Judges in the Magistrates' Court 9. Criminal Business: Circuit Judges in the Crown Court 10. Judges and Juries 11. Civil Business in the County Court 12. Family Judges: The Patience of Job and the Judgment of Solomon 13. High Court Business 14. The Court of Appeal 15. Brenda and the Law Lords Transform into the Supremes 16. Judges on Judges 17. Tools of the Trade 18. TheWorld of Judges from 2011
Dr Darbyshire was given a warm welcome by her research subjects and extraordinarily open access: she freely recounts her impressions as she watches judges at all levels at work--and over lunch--over many years. Her very sympathetic and entertaining account may perhaps surprise many, particularly those outside the legal system. Insiders will be particularly entertained to identify the individual characters she describes so clearly.Archbold Review2011, 10, 9For those of us in the law, whether barristers or solicitors, this very readable book has that amazing un-put-downable quality which we are sure will lead to an impressive level of interest, not just amongst us legal beagles, but with the general public and certainly with academics...a formidable, utterly fascinating and certainly well written piece of research. If you wish to read a well-rounded and insightful commentary on the experience of modern judging, this book is to be highly recommended.Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green ChambersPenny Darbyshire, the author of this impressive work, has a first degree in law, a master's in criminology and a PhD in socio-legal studies. With those qualifications and existing research expertise in the legal system under her belt she was well placed to take on the formidable task of revealing the truth about the working lives of judges...The findings are a testament to her skill as a researcher and the book is a testament to her skill as a writer. Anyone who is interested in judges and the courtroom should read this truly unique book. I predict that they will not be disappointed and I will not be surprised if Penny Darbyshire wins an award or two for this book.Professor Penny CooperExpert Witness Institute NewsletterDecember 2011Sitting in Judgment: The Working Lives of Judges by Penny Darbyshire, is a weighty work. She has spent seven years researching the judiciary and sitting alongside them. The result is a rare expose of what judges do, think and how they and the system have changed.Darbyshire's painstaking work contains some gems and sheds some light on a world that remains remote to most.Frances GibbThe Times29th September 2011Although little she says will come as a surprise to anyone who has ever spoken to a judge, Darbyshire has some justification for contrasting the fruits of her academic research with the 'cruel and lazy journalism' that has left the public imagining the typical judge to be an 'archaic media folk-devil' dressed up like a pantomime characterDarbyshire's book is probably at its most revealing in showing how judges used to be appointed before the system was reformed; some, she discovered, had applied unsuccessfully for silk and were offered a seat on the circuit bench as a consolation prize. She reminds us, though, of a system in which all judges were appointed by a cabinet minister.Joshua RozenbergLaw Society Gazette6th October 2011'Darbyshire's major contribution, and that of other socio-legal scholars like her, lies in the exposure of the many injustices, incompetence and inefficiencies that have blighted and continue to blight our legal system...What this book does especially well is to show the extent to which the judges, almost as much as the courts' hapless consumers, suffer from and are frustrated by the appalling inadequacies of the UK's woefully underfunded civil and criminal justice systems.' Michael King is emeritus professor in the School of Law, University of Reading.Times Higher Education3rd November 2011I have now had the pleasure of reading a deal of your book, and I am filled with admiration for it. Many congratulations on a remarkable achievement exceedinglyawell researched, comprehensive, perceptive,alucid, illuminating and valuable. These are just a few of the positive adjectives one could shower on this book. But perhaps the most important is the last, because 'Sitting in Judgment' will be a valuable resource for anyone who really wishes to understand what happens on bot
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