"And now, while the #criminaljusticesystem is in flames – record, growing #courtbacklogs; record delays; #trials unable to go ahead for a lack of #judges and £barristers; crumbling #courtbuildings; overflowing #prisons; #chronicunderstaffing – the #LordChancellor has backed herself into a pointless, idiotic fight in which she may ultimately be forced to dismantle the one part of the system which was quietly and effectively getting on with its job."
https://thesecretbarrister.com/2025/04/02/we-need-to-talk-about-the-sentencing-council/
The Secret Barrister · We need to talk about the Sentencing CouncilThe past few weeks have seen significant political and media attention lavished on the Sentencing Council of England and Wales, a small independent non-departmental public body which has hitherto a…
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It is unsurprising now that survey after survey after survey shows that public faith in democratic institutions is at a record low. Not all of the decline can be traced directly to campaign finance issues, of course, but a great deal of it can. Trump capitalized on that disaffection in his initial campaigns for office: He criticized Citizens United and suggested that his wealth would insulate him from the corrupting influence of campaign donations. “When you give, [elected officials] do whatever you want,” he claimed during one of the 2015 primary debates. He appears to have taken that reasoning to heart after Musk’s own contributions.
At the end of his dissent, Stevens also offered up a prediction of his own. “The court’s ruling threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions across the nation,” he wrote. “The path it has taken to reach its outcome will, I fear, do damage to this institution.” Musk and Trump are now calling for the removal of judges who disagree with them and defying federal court orders. Rarely has a prophecy from dissenting justice been proven so obviously correct.](https://assets.newsie.social/media_attachments/files/114/220/944/776/292/096/original/554dd46651fb8727.png "Text from article:
It is unsurprising now that survey after survey after survey shows that public faith in democratic institutions is at a record low. Not all of the decline can be traced directly to campaign finance issues, of course, but a great deal of it can. Trump capitalized on that disaffection in his initial campaigns for office: He criticized Citizens United and suggested that his wealth would insulate him from the corrupting influence of campaign donations. “When you give, [elected officials] do whatever you want,” he claimed during one of the 2015 primary debates. He appears to have taken that reasoning to heart after Musk’s own contributions.
At the end of his dissent, Stevens also offered up a prediction of his own. “The court’s ruling threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions across the nation,” he wrote. “The path it has taken to reach its outcome will, I fear, do damage to this institution.” Musk and Trump are now calling for the removal of judges who disagree with them and defying federal court orders. Rarely has a prophecy from dissenting justice been proven so obviously correct.")
giving 