Use of humour in the exercise of official judicial functions. The scope of the article is limited in several ways. Judges to gently admonish stakeholders who warrant it. Of complex written reasons and it serves as a social It oils the wheels of justice by easing courtroom tensions and aiding digestion Promotes open justice by demystifying the language and rituals of the courtroom Human quality that we should expect judges to display it Judicial behaviour, humour has a valuable place in the curial process. Impermissibly with the ethical obligations and high standards of conductĮxpected of judicial officers. This article considers whether there is a legitimate role for humour in theĮxercise of judicial functions and, if so, whether its Hone their adroitness, agility and acuity. Written communication skills, and the dynamics of the courtroom require them to Through training and experience, most develop high-order oral Undertaken lengthy periods of study in demanding academic Judicial officers are generally intelligent and well-educated And yet, in the midst of this formality, or perhapsīecause of it, judges and magistrates do, from time to time, engageĮxchanges with other participants in the legal system or use humour in their Judgment ex cathedra in cases that expose parties to financial ruin orĭeprive them of their liberty. Judicial officers, often robed and wigged, While all members of society live under the aegis of the law, very few areĮxposed first-hand to its institutions, personnel or processes.Īre, the experience is a sombre one. Serious engagement with this lightest of topics. Ilk provide a solution to the pressing problem of how to fill the Christmasįriend or loved one, but there is room for more Might otherwise have been lost to those who did not To be sure, there have been sporadic collections ofĪnd these have brought into the public domain vignettes of judicial life that Judicial humour rarely has been subjected to considered analysis in Australia. When the topic is judicial humour, the difficulties are compounded. It has a certain fragility, an evasiveness, which one had best As American writer E B White acutely observed,īe dissected, as a frog can, but the thing dies in the Like the observer effect in particle physics, mereĪnd amusement to pity. Lie within the sound discretion of the court. Time the use of humour by judges may be called in question, but judges areĬhosen for their capacity to judge. Of humour could amount to misconduct that warrants removal from office,įorm the basis of a complaint against a judicial officer, and has done so onĭespite these legitimate constraints on judicial behaviour, theĪrticle concludes that humour has a place in the curial process. While it is fanciful to suggest that even an egregious use The use of humour also has to avoid claims of Her role with independence, integrity, propriety and diligence. Use of humour may conflict with a judge’s ethical duty to Reasons and serves as a social corrective by allowing judges to gentlyīalanced against these considerations is the concern that excessive Justice by easing courtroom tensions and aiding digestion Quality we should expect judges to display promotes open justiceĭemystifying the language and rituals of the courtroom oils the wheels of Of judicial humour, namely, that humour is a quintessentially human The article then discusses four arguments in Stakeholders in legal proceedings-litigants, judges, advocates andĮxamines how their different interests are affectedīy the use of judicial humour. Is an appropriate role for humour in the exercise of judicial functions in However, thisĬonventional view deserves to be challenged. Of judicial humour, especially in written decisions. This stringent attitude is reflected in the paucity of Australian Yet most judicial officers inĪnd restraint in using humour in courtrooms and Power to feel at liberty to unleash their wit. ![]() In such a culture, one might expect those The Use of Humour in the Exercise of Judicial FunctionsĪustralians are often said to have a sense of humour that is dry, irreverentĪnd ironic. ![]() ![]() University of Technology Sydney Law Research Series > | Feedback University of Technology Sydney Law Research Series Oakley, Jack Opeskin, Brian - "Banter from the Bench: The use of humour in the exercise of judicial functions" UTSLRS 1 (2016) 42 Australian Bar Review 82
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