Saturday, February 20, 2010
Simon Singh case
Simon Singh's libel case with the British Chiropractic Association appears before the Court of Appeal in London next week on Tuesday 23rd February. His case will be heard by three of the most powerful legal figures in the UK, Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge, Master of the Rolls Lord Neuberger and Lord Justice Sedley and has been named one of the top ten cases to watch in 2010 by The Lawyer magazine.
IMO: We have all heard many complaints against UK judges, often wise and sensible complaints. But lets hope for the best for justice and for poor Simon Singh. Whatever its many faults, UK justice seems better than that in New York State, USA, where one long term justice, Thomas R. Buckley, in working life a phone-company repairman, cursed at defendants and jailed them without bail or a trial. Judge Stanley Yusko routinely jailed people awaiting trial for longer than the law allows. It turned out that Yusko had failed a simple judge entry test but was appointed "anyway". Thomas R. Buckley had his own special treatment for defendants without much money: Even if they were found not guilty, he ordered them to perform community service work to pay for their court-appointed lawyers, although defense lawyers and the district attorney had reminded him for years that the law guaranteed a lawyer at no cost. Those cases are recent in America, and of course there are many more. These judges are elected to office, need no legal training, have no oversight (many don't even keep court records), and have the power to imprison people for up to two years (and some accused have been kept in jail for many more years, waiting for a judge to call their cases), and collect millions in (unaudited) fines and penalties. The system is a shambles, So whatever happens, it could be worse for Simon Singh - he could possibly have been compulsorarily extradited to USA thanks to 'terrible Tony' (Blair).
IMO: We have all heard many complaints against UK judges, often wise and sensible complaints. But lets hope for the best for justice and for poor Simon Singh. Whatever its many faults, UK justice seems better than that in New York State, USA, where one long term justice, Thomas R. Buckley, in working life a phone-company repairman, cursed at defendants and jailed them without bail or a trial. Judge Stanley Yusko routinely jailed people awaiting trial for longer than the law allows. It turned out that Yusko had failed a simple judge entry test but was appointed "anyway". Thomas R. Buckley had his own special treatment for defendants without much money: Even if they were found not guilty, he ordered them to perform community service work to pay for their court-appointed lawyers, although defense lawyers and the district attorney had reminded him for years that the law guaranteed a lawyer at no cost. Those cases are recent in America, and of course there are many more. These judges are elected to office, need no legal training, have no oversight (many don't even keep court records), and have the power to imprison people for up to two years (and some accused have been kept in jail for many more years, waiting for a judge to call their cases), and collect millions in (unaudited) fines and penalties. The system is a shambles, So whatever happens, it could be worse for Simon Singh - he could possibly have been compulsorarily extradited to USA thanks to 'terrible Tony' (Blair).
# posted by uv : 8:08 AM
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