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It’s never wise to compare a judge to a rubber stamp.

Unlike a rubber stamp – or court reporters – a circuit judge is rarely covered in ink. Nor do they like being pressed on paper, I assume.

So it was with a slight sense of surprise that a young barrister greeted Judge Michael Gledhill KC’s words: “Do I look like a rubber stamp?”

It is worth pausing at this stage to note that there is no sensible reply to such a question.

To say yes is to kiss goodbye to whatever career you might otherwise have enjoyed.

To say no is to entertain the idea that someone – somewhere – might think the judge looks like a rubber stamp.

The point being made by the judge was a serious one.

His frustration was aimed at the Crown Prosecution Service, who he felt were returning at the last minute for approval to extend time allowed to serve formal documents in a proceeds of crime case.

It is not the first time he has made the same point.

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