I know this isn’t always readily apparent, but I am in fact an internationally significant historian of the jury system. And I’ve just published a new article, looking at jury speech in the twentieth century, and what it can tell us about the jury’s historic role as a political institution.

I've really enjoyed this piece which speaks to my misgivings about the constant injonction of self-care when what we all really need is to take care of each other instead.

Do have a read of my Substack today if you have time, it makes a convincing case for why going to the pub might not be good for "you" but it is good for "us" and then you can send to your friends and maybe they'll go the pub with you as well

Properly funding the court system would clear the backlog even more quickly. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

For those joining Bluesky from the Bad Place: welcome. Yes, you could/should have made the decision sooner, but it is never too late to make a good decision. And there is a lot on this site which will remind you of the Bad Place before it was bad.

wrote about The Other Place www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Omg hard relate!

Please re-share this - there aren't many permanent law jobs available in the UK right now! #academicjobfairy

Sounds great, until you read this bit: "The Guardian understands there will be no additional funding for these units, so forces will have to absorb the costs from existing budgets". Gov will do literally anything except actually fund the justice system. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Sur le coup,c’est tout à fait FAUX. Les élus,par définition,ne sont pas neutres puisque élus sur des opinions. Ils ne doivent être neutres que lorsqu’ils exercent 1 service public ou représentent 1 administration publique. De +, la laïcité n’impose pas la laïcité aux usagers Et…

The jury remains central in the public imagination, but its practical role is marginal. The real threat to justice isn't the jury, it's the relentless prioritisation of efficiency over fairness and effectiveness in criminal justice policy. #CriminalJustice #JuryTrial #LegalReform

Trial by jury in England & Wales has a mythical status. It's seen as the pinnacle of adversarial justice: a judge decides the law and 12 jurors decide the facts. But in reality? Jury trials account for less than 1% of criminal cases.

In all the jury kerfuffle what isn't being discussed and should be is magistrates. The mixed bench proposed by Leveson to replace juries has been quietly dropped in favour of a single judge. And mags sentencing powers are going up again to 18 months (+up to 2 yrs) www.theguardian.com/law/2025/dec...

If you want some good news this morning, I showed my three boys the PM doing the six/seven thing and now they have all stopped doing it.

I struggle to see why turning ourselves into a society so unwelcoming that even those afraid for the lives are deterred from coming is something we would actually *want*.

To reiterate, this is about making life immeasurably more miserable and stressful for some of the most vulnerable people, in the almost certainly vain hope of winning over the votes of racists. Anything more shabby and shameful is difficult to envisage.

The normalisation, nay, emboldenment of the far right by the Labour government continues at pace

Re the last question: I have been wondering if this is because the police force had to instruct other (external) lawyers for the appeal who found out what happened...

This is an appalling judgment to read. Two Chief Constables found in contempt of court for misleading the court about the existence of video footage. But this was only discovered when the matter made it to the Court of Appeal. Incredible perseverance. www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWC...

This is a tragic, beautiful piece that highlights the brutal reality of life for many repeat offenders.

No loitering? In a park...

I’ve said this jokingly to colleagues but a universal research income (URI) of 10k would be a far more equitable and productive system than the current funding model staggering to think of the time and effort put into applications that have a 1% chance of getting funded

Giving everyone in the relevant field an equal share of grant funding with no peer review would deliver as much as they need. A moderate amount of resources in the UK, and a high amount of resources in the US and the Netherlands. Before we consider the money and time saved in application and review.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... "Based on the evidence we have reviewed, if Ruth's case had taken place in modern times, she would have been able to plead a defence of diminished responsibility or loss of control." This might be true for diminished responsibility but not convinced for loss of control

Exact same train of thoughts from me. And also made sure British husband got French citizenship to keep all our options open.

To be absolutely clear, it is impossible to vote for a party that cannot bring itself to unequivocally defend the rights of people living and working legally in this country. Because arbitrary removal of legal rights, or sudden varying of terms, for some is ultimately a threat to everyone.

Have these people heard of... books?

Professors *never* supply information. Students aren’t paying premium prices for ‘information’ at all. How can people who presumably have attended universities misunderstand their role so badly?

"The public are sick of voting for tougher sentences and getting the opposite." www.theguardian.com/law/2025/oct... To put it mildly, Robert Jenrick is a complete imbecile who does not know what he is talking about: www.sentencingacademy.org.uk/wp-content/u...

I was thinking about this recently when taking my eldest to the Oxford Open Day. She's at a northern state grammar school. She was amongst groups of kids who had been bused in by their schools, had stayed in college, where their schools had already been visited by various colleges...

You know what no one has ever done before? Tried to 'reclaim' patriotism for the left.

Getting mighty tired of the meme on here of “oh, it is just so difficult for the government to set the agenda”. The government (which literally employs thousands of press officers) is setting the agenda - it’s just that it is setting it on toxic ground it can’t win.

We could have a look at other European countries who have had ID cards for decades (e.g. France) and see that it doesn't make a difference to border control. There is however racial profiling during police ID check...

This is why, despite Labour’s fumbling attempts in the last couple of days to persuade people that they can be relied upon as allies in the fight against fascism, they very obviously can’t

Bear with me, I anticipate your disagreement. There is a clear pattern to the advice given to those who want to press back against rising racism. What it boils down to is that if you point out that racism is often being dressed up as “legitimate concerns” you will alienate people. /1

My take on the French political crisis remains the same since the last parliamentary elections: the only (orderly) way out is through a constitutional assembly. There is no way French politicians will make the necessary compromises so close to the next presidential election (2027).

Really looking forward to this collaboration with the Centre for Women's Justice. Watch this space!

📣General registration for4th joint annual conference 'A feminist Politics of Radical Hope in a Time of Oppression' is now open. Details: www.lexnetwork.org/radical-hope... LEX now reviewing membership applications Details: lexnetwork.org @sharronfitz.bsky.social @genderandjustice.bsky.social

Bunch of people who never had to uproot their entire lives and move thousands of miles away ought to stop pontificating on asylum and immigration

Jeu des sept différences : - A la moindre incartade (même résiduelle), les établissements musulmans sont fustigés publiquement & privés de subsides - Et quand le directeur un établissement catholique viole gravement la loi républicaine & multiplie les dérives intégristes : Il ne se passe... *rien*

Calling all barristers and solicitor-advocates. If you are able to help with my PhD research on the jury, please do get in contact with me. Thank you in advance!

And yet still infuriating. It feels as if crucial research doesn't take place north of Birmingham

1 in 3 doctors were born overseas. 1 in 2 builders were born overseas. 1 in 6 nurses were born overseas. 1 in 4 transport workers were born overseas. 1 in 7 UK business founders were born overseas. 1 in 5 university academics were born overseas. The UK would be screwed without them.

Do you want to work with a fabulous feminist team as book review editor? Then get in touch at the link below! @sharronfitz.bsky.social [email protected] @uccwomenstudies.bsky.social @ruthholliday.bsky.social @umuterel.bsky.social @imogentyler.bsky.social @lindaconnolly.bsky.social

One of these days a senior politician will actually say something positive about the 10 million people living and working in the UK who happen to have been born abroad, but that day is not today

To go on about how jobs and houses and shops and drugs might now be consumed by someone other than yourself is, to be frank, a form of greed. Stop going on about yourself and your people and your family for a minute and think about others.

We are delighted to share the inaugural edition of our brand new CCJS newsletter. Every quarter we will be sharing the latest research developments, impact activities, events and other news from across our community. Read the first edition here: campaignmonitor.leeds.ac.uk/t/y-e-cuidyo...

Un Premier ministre « avocat gauchiste » veut une réécriture de la CEDH. Pour saper la protection des étrangers en matière d'éloignement (tortures & vie familiale). Afin de « calmer » l'extrême droite. Le dernier qui a tenté ce calcul, c'est Cameron en 2015. Le résultat fut brillant : Brexit...

Ça porte un nom, qui renvoie à une tradition française déjà ancienne: c'est une rafle.