Court Room Mouse who "runs the investigative court reporting blog, Mouse in The Court" - The Times. Open Justice/niche & nuanced (AKA Daniel Cloake)
London
Joined September 2020
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Daniel the MouseInTheCourt retweeted
A complex case, involving three children born in country X aged between 6 and 14, who originally had permission to stay in Uk until spring 2027. Family court found older children subject to physical abuse. Father will be charged. Children all in LA care now --could they be safely returned to Country X? An Independent Social Worker had to assess potential family members as carers there . But the Judge found the ISW's evidence lacked rigour and clarity and she had clearly used AI (as @MouseInTheCourt explains)... the Judge said : "I do not feel able to place any significant weight on her evidence". Those three children will remain in care in England - though the younger ones might go back to their home country in future....
“This version … is more likely to withstand cross-examination because…”
Family Court expert found to have left AI response in report(!)
HHJ Flexman cites “significant gap between the voice and opinion of the expert and the report which she has filed”
bailii.org/ew/cases/EWFC/HCJ…
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt retweeted
For reasons I can't remember, I picked up a second-hand copy of "Cases in Court" published in 1949 & it's a very good read.
Seems that the demise of transparency in the justice system has been lamented for more than 70 years....
And yet here we are, some of us, still trying!
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt retweeted
Parents discover drugs, detain their own son and call the police.
Their reward for exemplary parenting: becoming prosecution witnesses and being kicked out of court.
Entirely proper. Also magnificently British.
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt retweeted
So true - this case was "ex parte Leigh" so I remember it well.....
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt retweeted
Goes contrary to the longstanding, and imho correct, ruling by the late Deputy Lord Chief Justice Tasker Watkins VC in The Guardian v Felixstowe Magistrates…
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt retweeted
The DJ who imposed a penal sanction *on the court-appointed Guardian* (a ludicrous order) is anonymized
But the counsel who applied for the order, is not?
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt retweeted
“We have messed up” magistrate tells 14-year-old defendant as sentencing can't proceed:
"We’re really sorry about this. It shouldn’t have happened. It’s rare, and it’s a real shame it’s happened today."
mouseinthecourt.co.uk/2026/0…
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt retweeted
Why on earth didn't they sentence her without a report? Because of her age, all that's going to happen as a referral order. They know that now and that's what she'll get when she goes back to Court. It should never have been adjourned for reports in the first place.
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt retweeted
To those whose misfortune is to deal with HMCTS routinely, 'can't be arsed' is a readily recognised, if unsaid, doctrine.
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt retweeted
Got to be one of the most egregious examples of the clickbait nonsense that is nowadays so prevalent as far as mainstream online ‘journalism’ is concerned 🤦♂️
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt retweeted
Met PC described 14-year-old girl as "f**king b*tch" following assault, court hears
What began as an attempt by police to disperse a gathering of teenagers and “get them home to their parents” has, five months later, ended up before a District Judge at Stratford Youth Court
✍️👇
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt retweeted
This week an urgent email request for a terrrorism search warrant was mistakenly shared by Westminster Magistrates' Court to over 50 media court list subscribers. Unsurprisingly this has caused a major panic and days later requests are still coming in to delate all the material.
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt retweeted
📢 CourtWatch is back - and this time we’re taking on the whole of England and Wales!
We’re looking for volunteers to observe hearings in their local magistrates’ courts and report back to us.
🔗Sign up now to get info on online training sessions! transformjustice.eo.page/cou…
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt retweeted
🚨VENABLES TRIAL COLLAPSES🚨
The jury have been discharged in the case of R v Robert Venables KC as they are unable to reach a verdict on any of the three counts
More info to follow
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt retweeted
Is there a musical intro and a drawing of the curtains as Mr Justice Bruce Forsyth bounces onto the bench?
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt retweeted
The reporting of this case by @MouseInTheCourt has been absolutely brilliant. – at Bathampton, England
“Now you’re a jury of 11” – KC Tax Trial latest
Jury member discharged as deliberations continue
mouseinthecourt.co.uk/2026/0…
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt retweeted
Big whoops at Bristol Live, where some poor overworked reporter has left the ChatGPT instructions on a social post:
"Since you didn't include specific instructions with this text, I've gone ahead and rewritten it into a punchy, scannable format based on our previous tasks!"
ALT A Bristol Live social media post about a charity shop book being sold for £25,000 which ends with the ChatGPT-sounding prompt: 'Since you didn't include specific instructions with this text, I've gone ahead and rewritten it into a punchy, scannable format based on our previous tasks! Would you like me to generate some alternative headlines for this story, or perhaps condense it down even further?'
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt retweeted
"We can’t provide a judge...I'm sorry to the parties, in particular the defendant and the complainant" - HHJ Tony Baumgartner, senior judge at Southwark, as man facing three counts of rape has 5-day trial adjourned until February 2027
Alleged crime took place in Aug 2024