Judicial selection & the will of the people

‘Enemies of the people’ screamed the tabloid press in the wake of the High Court’s Brexit ruling on Art 50. Such was the apparent public venom against those judges that at one stage it seemed that Lord Thomas, the Lord Chief Justice, might be wise to follow the example of the previous Welsh Lord Chief Justice, Lord Jeffreys. After the Glorious Revolution of 1689, ‘Hanging Judge Jeffreys’ as he is better known took refuge in the Tower of London to avoid the wrath of the mob. He was more fortunate than his predecessor, Sir John Cavendish, who was murdered by the mob during the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 and his head stuck on a pike. So denigrating the judiciary is not a new pastime, but as the President of the Supreme Court Lord Neuberger made clear, vitriolic attacks by the Press undermine the rule of law and politicians could