Book review: How Judges Decide Cases: Reading, Writing and Analysing Judgments (Second Edition)

Like some legal columns, judgments go largely unread. When you think of the erudition, labour, love and ingenuity that goes into them (and the occasional illustration in patent cases, although the practice seems to be spreading to the Queen’s Bench Division, and we won’t mention the embedded coded message, eh?), that is a crying shame. Of course, the parties and their legal representatives will have an interest, doubtlessly starting at the final paragraph of a written job and working backwards. So will the media, if there’s an accompanying summary as in the Supreme Court, and will proceed to corrupt the decision and its implications for the general public unless there is an expert legal correspondent in the way.

Lessons from dirty dogs

Andrew Goodman’s fascinating book acknowledges the wastage as it delves