Her Honour Wendy Joseph KC Rough Justice: A gripping insight into Britain's criminal courts

About

In this talk, Her Honour Wendy Joseph seeks to answer:

Do we have the law we deserve?
Has justice improved for the victim, the accused and society?
What even is justice?

Described as a ‘natural storyteller’ by the Times and based on the book which was described by Lady Hale as ‘compelling’, this talk is given by a former judge of which Cherie Blair stated: ‘If ever I was on trial I would want my judge to be this one’. Hot on the heels of her Sunday Times bestseller ‘Unlawful Killings’ which was presented at the Lewes Speakers Festival previously, Her Honour Wendy Joseph KC skilfully reconstructs four courtroom dramas, drawing on her many years’ experience as a murder judge to ask whether our justice system works, and if it has improved over the centuries. Have we got any better at delivering what is right and fair to both the perpetrators and the victims of society’s most heinous crimes?

From the trial of a child charged with disposing of dismembered body parts, to the woman accused of killing her own husband, Joseph is utterly compelling as she sets out how the system works. But, as she compares these modern courtroom tales with eerily similar cases and miscarriages of justice from years ago, might the most chilling story of all be that the lessons of the past have yet to be learned?

This talk illuminates the struggles of any one of us caught up in our legal system – but particularly the marginalized and the easily exploited – and grapples with the concept of ‘justice for all’ so that we might demand better.

Until March 2022 Her Honour Wendy Joseph KC was a judge at the Old Bailey, sitting on criminal cases, trying mainly allegations of murder and other homicide. When she moved to the Old Bailey in 2012 she was the only woman amongst sixteen judges, and only the third woman ever to hold a permanent position there. She was also a Diversity and Community Relations Judge, working to promote understanding between the judiciary and many different sectors of our community, particularly those from less privileged and minority groups. She mentors young people, from a variety of backgrounds, who hope for a career in law and has a special interest in helping women.

A Q&A Session will follow.