Social media stories from the Judicial Office

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Judicial news stories on social media
BBC interview – Afghan women judges On Monday 4 October 2021 Mrs Justice McGowan spoke to Naga Munchetty about the position women judges in Afghanistan are currently in. A full transcript of the interview and a link to the recorded version via BBC Sounds is available here.	To donate and support the London Legal Walk visit the link here
District Judge (MC) Tan Ikram recently spoke to the National Diverse Student Network for their ‘Talking Heads’ series. Click here to watch the video.	Magistrate Sam is based in Bedfordshire. He talks to us about his role as a family magistrate. Read his full interview here.
Judges make history as first all-female Court of Appeal sits in Wales History has been made after three female judges – Lady Justice Nicola Davies, Mrs Justice Jefford and Mrs Justice Steyn – sat as part of the Court of Appeal in Wales.	Swearing in of the new Lord Chancellor, the Attorney General and new Solicitor General The Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP has been officially sworn in as Lord Chancellor. The Attorney General and the new Solicitor General were also sworn in at the same ceremony. All speeches are available by clicking the link above.
Listen to Luke Rigg, chair of young magistrates group, share stories from the magistrates bench to Olly Mann at BBC Radio Four. BBC Radio 4 – Four Thought, When We Were Young	In his interview Judge Boora spoke to us about his first interests in the law, his work as a District and Community Relations Judge and Judicial Mentor, the importance of listening and communication in the role amongst more. A conversation with His Honour Judge Jinder Singh Boora \| Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
Lord Chief Justice gives evidence to Parliament’s Constitution Committee The Lord Chief Justice talked about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the courts, modernisation of the courts service, legal aid funding, judicial diversity and recruitment when he gave evidence at Parliament’s Constitution Committee on Wednesday morning.	Celebrating Pride Month – a diverse magistracy “There is certainly no such thing as your stereotypical magistrate” says Dan. With an interest in law and an eagerness to represent the LGBT+ community, Dan tells us why he became a magistrate.
Interview with Tribunal Judge Thaira Bibi \| Courts and Tribunals Judiciary Her Honour Judge Thaira Bibi, the first hijab wearing Salaried Judge of the First-tier Tribunal, talks about how she reaches decisions, diversity in the judiciary, what advice she would give to anyone considering the role and more.	A conversation with Recorder Mary Prior QC Recorder Mary Prior QC, a part time judge who also works as a barrister, tells us about her role sitting in criminal and family cases on the Northern Circuit.
How I fulfilled my passion for helping families by volunteering to become a magistrate Amy, a magistrate working in the family court, spoke to us about why taking on the role helped her fulfil her passion for helping families.	Click here to watch our ‘A Day in the Life’ interview with Lay Member Diane Hill.
Women’s History Month: Justice Zainab Jawara Alami shares her experiences as a female judge Justice Zainab Jawara Alami is a High Court Judge with the Judiciary of The Gambia, appointed in June 2017. You can read her interview at the link above.	YouTube – Ask a Magistrate Click here to watch our new playlist on our Judiciary UK YouTube channel all about magistrates.
HHJ Horton: The filming of “The Blunt Truth” to help tackle knife crime His Honour Judge Mark Anthony Horton, a District and Community Relations Judge, has helped with the filming of The Blunt Truth, an offshoot of the Insight Programme with Avon and Somerset police. It’s part of a series of programmes to tackle violence including knife crime, recognising that violence is a preventable consequence of a range of risk factors.	Neurodiversity Celebration Week: HHJ Dhir shares her experiences with dyslexia Talking about neurodiversity helps everyone to understand it better
Coffee and Careers: Meet the Judges for #JusticeWeek2021 Click here to watch three of our judges and a magistrate feature on a live streamed YouTube event, hosted by New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership. The panel spoke openly about their roles and provided some interesting insights into the world of the justice system.	International Women’s Day 2021 We were privileged to be able to speak with Senior U.S District Judge Loretta Preska and ask her some questions about her life and work as a judge. During her time on the bench Judge Preska has presided over many notable civil and criminal cases in her home county of the Unites States. Click here to watch the full interview. We had the opportunity to speak with Judge Nallini Pathmanathan of the Federal Court of Malaysia about her work as a judge and her experience as a woman in the judiciary.
Master McCloud on LGBTQ+ History Month 2020 Click here to watch our interview with Master Victoria McCloud, where she talks about being the first known openly trans judge and shares her thoughts on the importance of celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month.	This LGBTQ+ History Month we sat down with Her Honour Judge Sarah Venn. Click here to watch our interview where we discussed changes to LGBTQ+ attitudes, role models and the importance of LGBTQ+ History Month. The cufflinks at the end of the clip are the judges own 🌈
Interview with young magistrates Ibrahim and Kayleigh Listen to magistrates Ibrahim and Kayleigh talk about what made them want to apply, what skills they have learned and what they would say to someone thinking of taking on the role.	Efficiency and safety at Sheffield Crown Court His Honour Judge Jeremy Richardson QC, The Recorder of Sheffield shares how collaboration and planning have made Sheffield Crown Court COVID-19 secure. His Honour Judge Jeremy Richardson QC
A report by the Family Solutions Group, entitled What about me?: Reframing Support for Families following Parental Separation, has been published. President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, said: “This report brings together the various lines of thinking of recent years aimed at finding a better way to achieve good co-parenting between separated parents. It is an important and impressive document. You can see a webinar associated with the report online.	International Day of Persons with Disabilities: Interview with District Tribunal Judge Rachael Vasmer Ahead of International Day of Persons with Disabilities we spoke to Rachael Vasmer who is a district tribunal judge based in Shrewsbury, and an above-knee amputee. We talked about her professional journey, challenges she has faced due to her disability, and advice she would give to others.
A day in the life of a Circuit Judge Click here to watch a day in the life of His Honour Judge Mukerjee, who sits at Birmingham Crown Court as a circuit judge.	Judge helps students stay safe and learn about the courts HHJ Mark Horton, who has devised a Judicial Awareness Course, successfully delivered it to students at Merchants Academy in Withywood, Bristol as part of National inclusion Week.
The Modern Judiciary: Relaunch of online course The course will start from 29 June for five weeks, and participants can register online.	Launch of the new magistrate’s recruitment online resource As part of the on-going work to improve the recruitment of magistrates, we have launched a new magistrate landing page.
Magistrates Who are they? Magistrates, or Justices of the Peace as they are also known, are judicial office holders who serve in Magistrates’ Courts throughout England and Wales. What do they do? All magistrates sit in courts as panels of three, mixed in gender, age, ethnicity etc . All three have equal decision-making powers but only one, the chair, will speak in court and preside over the proceedings. Apply to be a magistrate	My experience of a socially distanced trial His Honour Judge Anthony Potter shares his experience of presiding over a socially distanced trial at Warwick Crown Court.
First 100 Years: celebrating the impact of pioneering women magistrates Descendants of the first female magistrates in Leicestershire and Rutland will join in the centenary celebrations of women entering the law. They will be among hundreds of people expected to attend two days of events in March honouring trailblazing women who helped change the face of the magistracy in the region.	Supporting the justice system from home As we continue to find out how judicial office holders are adjusting to new ways of working during the Coronavirus pandemic, Ben Yallop, who is a magistrate in North Hampshire, describes his experience of sentencing from home.
Pupils learn more about judiciary at Schools Question Time event Pupils from 12 local schools attended and put forward a range of questions, from asking about a typical day as a judge to the best career paths within the law.	Magistrates Association marks first ever Young Magistrates Conference. On Saturday 9 February, the Magistrates Association’s Young Magistrates Special Interest Group (YMSIG) held its first ever national conference to celebrate the contribution of young magistrates. The aim of the conference was to create a space to celebrate and explore the role of young magistrates and provide networking and training opportunities.
Dana Denis-Smith, founder of First 100 Years, talks about the importance of having more female judges to be even more representative of society. The robes event at the Royal Courts of Justice was celebrating 100 years of women in the law.	Lady Justice Hallett, Lady Justice Simler and Lady Justice Nicola Davies talk about their legal careers at the robes event, celebrating 100 years of women in the judiciary, held at the Royal Courts of Justice. They say the law is “a great career for women” and anyone thinking of applying should “believe in themselves and don’t be discouraged”.
Judiciary announces launch of first online course with King’s College London and FutureLearn	Robes event – honouring female trailblazers in the judiciary. Original robes worn by first female High Court Judge now on display at Royal Courts of Justice
Why not visit the Royal Courts of Justice, in The Strand, central London, on Saturday 21 September, as part of London Open House? Visit the cells, see the legal costume exhibition, hear talks on how a courtroom works, meet court staff and much more. The building is open from 10am-4pm. Event is free but expect long queues.	First 100 Years podcast – An Evening in Conversation with Dame Janet Smith DBE and Dame Caroline Swift DBE
One of our judges, HHJ Peter Nathan, has launched a new process for victims of domestic abuse that will pilot in Surrey. It means they will no longer have to travel to court to get a protective order, but can do it on the phone. Listen to his interview to find out more.	Applications for the Deputy High Court Support Programme close on 20 September. Follow this link to apply: https://www.judiciary.uk/announcements/deputy-high-court-judge-s94-support-programme/
Boost your community engagement – hold a court open day	“It’s all well and good saying we must have more representation, but people must put themselves forward.” Agnes Xavier-Phillips JP (pictured) talks to BBC Wales about her role as a magistrate.
Listen to a number of judges talking about the importance of public service	‘Anyone who thinks being a judge might be for them, but perhaps thinks that their face might not fit because of their social background, this is the programme that will change that.’ DHCJ John Kimbell on the Deputy High Court S9 (4) programme.
Dame Victoria Sharp talks to Tina Daheley on Woman’s Hour	Mrs Justice Thornton : pride and prejudice – why women need to be at the heart of the rule of law
Can anybody become a judge? “I didn’t go to a private school and I didn’t go to an Oxbridge or a red brick university and there was a time when I thought that part of my background would hold me back…” His Honour Judge Mukherjee talks about perceived challenges	District Judge Etherington talks about judges having to develop new skills to help the people in their court
Courts around the UK come in all shapes and sizes and deal with different aspects of the law. Visit judiciary.uk for more information about Crown Courts, Court of Appeal, Family Courts, Magistrates Courts and more. Many of these are open to the public	New President of the Queen’s Bench Division, Dame Victoria Sharp, is sworn in
The Lord Chief Justice pays tribute to the outgoing President of the Queen’s Bench Division, Sir Brian Leveson, at his valedictory ceremony	Lady Justice Nicola Davies on her career and continuing pride in her home country
Why I became a judge: Employment Judge Adenike Balogun	Judicial Question Time for schools
Lord Chief Justice Visits Dagenham School to talk to pupils about the role of the judiciary. The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales visits School in Dagenham to educate pupils about the work of judges and the judiciary	Young Advocate of the Year