Judges routinely reduce sentences based on mitigating factors. But a proposal to cap such reductions will potentially lead to fewer guilty pleas and put more strain on a the justice system.

Long a taboo subject within the profession, judges or magistrates bullying lawyers continues to be a problem in courtrooms, and more needs to be done to stamp it out.

The right to a fair trial means cutting the funding of cultural reports will simply shift the burden. Lawyers will find other ways to put the same information before a judge.

Court decisions based on a judge’s discretion rather than the letter of the law are increasingly common. But this risks undermining some basic liberties.