Justice Handy

Answer 1
After hearing the obscuring curtains of legalisms that Judge Handy’s

colleagues have very conveniently thrown on every issue presented to
them, he feels disappointed. The following are the main arguments
presented by him.
• He proceeds to raise the pertinent question about whether the
legal nature of the case was unilateral or bilateral and whether
Roger Whetmore could not have been considered as having
revoked the an offer prior to action taken thereunder. He points
towards how this may not have been a very legal bargain
considering the hesitation that Whetmore had.
• Justice Handy continues his remarks about the case by making it
clear that in this case practical wisdom needs to be exercise
rather than abstract theory. What he means by this is that once
when a case is viewed under practical wisdom, it makes the case
easier because the situation in which the case was placed which
is, in a place with no society, structure, organization or
governance, is better considered rather than in abstract theory
that sticks to statutes. He says the jury has a simple problem
before them about what they, as the officers of the government
ought to do and thus, the jury should do exactly that while
keeping in mind that men are not ruled by words or theories but,
by other men.
• Justice Handy also believes that this is one of the simplest cases
argued in court till date and is thus, easiest to decide and it is
extremely important that the jury doesn’t drive a wedge between
the masses and those who direct legal, political and economic
life as that would lead to the society being ruined.
• He also believes that going about our daily tasks with efficiency
and common sense is the right way of doing things therefore he
suggests following the good administrator who accommodates
principles and procedures to the case at hand to come up with
the most appropriate solution because people are ruled badly
when the laws aren’t interpreted correctly. Therefore, he says

that it is our duty to ensure that the right decision is taken based
on the correct rendition of the law.
• Justice Handy is a firm believer in that fact that the actions of
the judiciary should be kept in reasonable accord with the
sentiments of the subjects it rules to avoid there being a loss of
contact between them and the common man. Hence, he puts
forward the argument about how ninety percent of the common
masses believe the four defendants are innocent or should be left
off with a token punishment, thus making it easier for us to
know which direction we should start moving on. The
legislatures that make the laws of the nations are chosen by the
public. Having said this however, he also says no principle of
statutory construction is required as the statue had been
stretched long enough when the excuse for self defence was
recognised by their ancestors. Justice Handy acknowledges the
fact that his fellow jury members would be horrified by the
suggestion and thus, brings into view the four way possible
ways a man accused of crime may escape the punishment and
after looking at it closely, we realise that these decisions which
are held within a rigid and formal framework of rules are
actually not free of factual errors, or contain completely
unbiased opinions and neither do they guarantee that all the
forms of the law will be observed. This is the unfortunate reality
regardless of how hard the jury attempts to cabin their
deliberations within the area of the legally relevant.
• Justice Handy brings in another point that most may look past:
the judges usually get lost in the patterns of their own thoughts
and forget that these patterns often cast not the slightest shadow
on the world. He mentions that not once did anyone during the
course of the proceedings regarding the case express that it will
be fair and just to hang the 4 men but the chief justice believes it
to be the most desirable and appropriate solution to the problem
at hand because he is letting his morale shadow the judgment of
the case.
• The next point brought to notice by Judge Handy is the
unsurprising fact that while every conceivable variety and shade
of opinion is represented in the group of people that polled in

their opinions, not one of them plainly stated that it would be a
fine thing to hang the defendants who have clearly already been
through harrowing times. While public opinion isn’t always the
most accurate due to deep rooted biases, it is what is most
natural and the appropriate thing to do to not let a gap form
between the rulers and the ruled.
• Judge Handy concludes by talking about how he is perplexed at
men's refusal to apply their common sense to problems of law
and government, and this truly tragic case has deepened his
sense of discouragement and dismay. He also speaks about his
judgements in many previous cases which were based on
common sense and strongly accepted by the press and the public
and thus, for this case as well, he uses common sense to say that
these four defendants have already faced more torment and
humiliation than most of us could endure in a thousand years
and therefore, they are innocent and their conviction as well as
sentence should be set aside.
Answer 2
The following are the judges that Justice Handy agrees or disagrees
with:
• Justice Handy talks about how the statute was stretched enough
when the excuse of self defence was created and that if he were
to go into a more detailed demonstration of the method of
reconciling their decision, he would be content agreeing with
Justice Foster’s second and less visionary part of his argument.
• Justice Handy agrees with one aspect of Justice Tatting’s
statement of regret about the Prosecutor asking for an indictment
of murder, as he is using common sense to decide on this case
even though he is strict with the demands of legal theory. Unlike
Chief Justice Truepenny who insists on postponing the
application of common sense to the very end.
• Justice Keen is someone that Justice Handy does not agree with
as Justice Keen brings in his opinion as a “Private Citizen”
which doesn’t help find a solution to the case and this makes
Justice Handy perplexed about men’s refusal to apply their
common sense to problems of law and government.
• Justice Handy doesn’t agree with arguments put forward by
Chief Justice Truepenny as they point at wanting to apply the
law and punishing the defendants with a death penalty simply
because going for a retrial would incur a significant expense. It
is clear that the Chief Justice is just trying to satisfy his moral
dilemma by requesting executive clemency, instead of looking
for ways to achieve justice.

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Answer 1

After hearing the obscuring curtains of legalisms that Judge Handy’s

of opinion is represented in the group of people that polled in

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