Philip OPAS QC interview 4/8/2003

Did you ever encounter difficult judges or obstreperous opposition?

Most of the time!

Sometimes you could be derailed by someone who was more ignorant than you claimed to be?

There’s no question of that. It’s often difficult to convince judges who’ve got a closed mind. The only way you can do it is by demonstrating beyond argument the incorrectness of their perceived attitudes. It’s very hard to do. One judge who stands out as one of the most irascible judges was Justice Martin – he was a very difficult man, who gave the impression he had a bad temper barely under control. I was appearing for a man on a bigamy charge.

About eight cases were listed, and a couple of cases ahead of me was a bigamist who’d married two women, and Martin sentenced him to six months.

I came on a couple of cases later – my client had married three women. Martin snorted at me and said ‘You’re telling me I should deal with your client more leniently because he’s wronged three women instead of two.’ Willie Shakespeare came unbidden to my lips, and looking him in the eye, I said ‘Your Honour, didst thou but know the touch of love. Thou wouldst as soon go kindle a fire with snow, as seek to quench the fire of love with words.” He snorted at me again, and gave him a bond. I’ve found Shakespeare to be very helpful to me in many cases.

I believe some opposing counsel – friends of yours – also liked Shakespeare and the two of you would often engage in some Shakespeare duelling in court.

The late Woodsie Lloyd QC comes to mind – he had a great sense of humour. Sometimes judges didn’t approve of the way we went on, but often they did, and joined in. I recall once appearing before the full court on appeal, seeking custody for grandparents of a child, whom I suggested would be better off in the custody of the grandparents, than in the hands of two undeserving parents.

And I said to the judges – there were no women judges then – we are all grandfathers, we know the value of an extended family to a grandchild. Woodsie Lloyd jumped to his feet and said ‘Your Honours, if my learned friend is going to give expert evidence as a grandfather, I reserve the right to give evidence as a grandson’. Well, that almost blew me off my feet, and convulsed everyone, and against Woodsie, you always had that problem.

Conducted for the Bar Oral History project by Juliette Brodsky in the Neil McPhee Room, Owen Dixon Chambers and filmed by Stewart Carter (People Pictures)