The Safest Shield

… I have heard him deliver dozens of speeches of welcome and valediction to judges and lord justices of appeal. They have all been little short of miniature works of art, each marvellously crafted and carefully tailored to the honorand and the occasion, expressed with clarity, warmth and wit…he is one of our greatest Chief Justices [who was] responsible for leading the judiciary of England and Wales during a period of unprecedented difficulties and challenges. -- Lord Dyson, Master of the Rolls
At the Conference of Commonwealth Lawyers [he] captivated, charmed, inspired and pricked the conscience of every one of the hundreds of people in that auditorium…As a white baron he addressed a predominantly black, male, African audience on the subject of apartheid and its consequences, especially for women. He commanded their attention and their respect and moved them to tears and to two standing ovations. He spoke with extreme emotion and power. -- Maura McGowan QC, Chair of the Bar Council
Lord Judge was not just any old judge, but was a model occupant of an ancient office that is more than 700 years old. -- Philip Johnston * The Daily Telegraph *
Though he had an uncanny knack of knowing exactly what the public was thinking – about crime, about sentencing and much else – he was always the judge’s judge …Little wonder then that, when he had delivered his last formal judgment as lord chief justice, he was treated to something I have never before encountered in a court of law: nearly 300 people rising as one and breaking into sustained, whole-hearted applause. -- Joshua Rozenberg * The Guardian *
I was superbly entertained, informed and mesmerised by the lucid, thought-provoking and able contribution put forward by the author, at a time when he was Lord Chief Justice, on a legion of themes, not least on the subjects of the evidence on children, sentencing, advocacy, human rights, judicial independence and the liberty of the subject tributary to the rule of law. -- Gilles Renaud * Criminal Law Journal *
[Lord] Judge has an accessible and relaxed style, which ensures that the reader is immediately engaged and carried along by these pieces. However, the style also results in the reader almost being taken unawares by the depth and breadth of the author’s scholarship; his deep attachment to his country, its history and its institutions; and his passionate commitment to justice and the rule of law. -- Lord Neuberger * The Middle Templar Magazine *
[These] writings resonate with history as well as humanity. -- Michael Beloff QC * The Times Literary Supplement *