Reviews
News, analysis, comment and updates from ICLR's case law and UK legislation platform
Paul Magrath reviews a book and a play about the notorious phonehacking trial at the Old Bailey… Continue reading
Reviewed by Paul Magrath Ian McEwan’s latest novel, The Children Act, is named after a statute; and the story it tells is about a High Court judge. But its true purpose seems to be to provide a literary appreciation of the art of writing judgments. Not just any old judgments, though. For McEwan seems… Continue reading
Reviewed by Paul Magrath When the life of an accused man hangs in the balance, even a point of statutory construction can be turned to nail-biting drama. In A Matter for the Jury, Peter Murphy continues the story of Ben Schroeder, a young barrister in the 1960s, with a tense account of his first murder… Continue reading
Reviewed by Paul Magrath Stolen elections, military coups, kidnapping, extortion and terror. We may think these things only happen in unstable third world countries, but Peter Murphy shows how close to home – to the White House itself – these things could come. In his first political thriller, REMOVAL, Murphy showed us how a presidential… Continue reading
Flash Boys, by Michael Lewis reviewed by Paul Magrath Few authors can claim to have set in train an investigation by the FBI, but Michael Lewis’s latest book, Flash Boys, has done just that after exposing some of the more dubious practices associated with High Frequency Trading (HFT) on the US securities market. Nor is… Continue reading
Reviewed by Paul Magrath When the drugged, strangled corpse of a blonde in a green dress is found in the bedroom of hedge fund honcho Vernon James’s trashed hotel suite, the morning after the gala awards ceremony where he was awarded the Ethical Man of the Year prize, his protestations of innocence meet a wall… Continue reading
The news that an experienced criminal barrister and part-time judge, Constance Briscoe, has been sentenced to 16 months in prison for three offences of perverting the course of justice has prompted widespread comment and, in some quarters, indignation. It brings a promising career to an abrupt end and, for a once inspiring role model, it is also a sad fall from grace.… Continue reading
How does a prime time TV series about the law satisfy both the public curiosity about the legal profession and its practices, and the respect of practitioners themselves who would like to see a mirror held up to their nature? And just how true-to-life can the characters get when one of them steps out of… Continue reading
The English Legal system, 14th ed (2013-2014), by Gary Slapper and David Kelly (Routledge, £32.99). As the authors point out in their introduction, the English legal system has evolved over a period of more than a thousand years, and continues to evolve daily. It needs a textbook of sufficient heft and vigour to keep up with… Continue reading
The passion for justice is something that runs from generation to generation. It is the writing that permeates the stick of rock that we call society. Even when it isn’t there, perhaps especially when it isn’t there, its absence makes its presence felt. Today we take the right to a fair trial for granted. Magna Carta,… Continue reading
