Simon McGarrApr 10, 2024

One of my quiet amusements when I go abroad alone is to visit the courts nearby.

Currently, the holder of the record for the friendliest court is the NY State Supreme Court, where a registrar and a judge spotted me looking incongruous sitting in the court and the registrar took me on a tour.

Show threadSimon McGarrApr 10, 2024
The case was on a break, as there were negotiations ongoing. I do not know what made me look so unusual as to trigger investigation from the bench. I would have thought Big Irish Heads were commonplace in New York.
Show threadSimon McGarrApr 10, 2024
I visited a court in Rome, but it wasn’t sitting, which was sad. I have seen Italian lawyers before the CJEU and they are a very different style. Gold braid is involved.
Show threadSimon McGarrApr 10, 2024
Visiting a court is an excellent way to see parts of a place that may not come in front of your eyes in touristy circumstances. It’s like a show, where random people are pressed in off the street to play parts without audition alongside practised actors.
Show threadSimon McGarrApr 10, 2024

I was once in Belfast’s small claims court equivalent and it was *fascinating*.

There was a lot of subtext in the room that day.

And the judge was extraordinarily skilful in ensuring everyone felt that they had been heard.

A really interesting outing.

Show threadSimon McGarr

A new idea I had on my last visit to Brooklyn was to offer to give a guest lecture to a nearby law school on some Data Protection thing.

I am not sure if this is a runner, but I am going to see if anyone is interested anyway.

Apr 10, 2024 at 9:01pmWeb
Show threadSimon McGarrApr 10, 2024

I greatly enjoy lecturing and believe I am quite good at engaging students in the topic.

I also can make them get lively and engage with each other, which is also fun to see.

I do not know if this would translate to a US room full of students, but it would be worth a punt.

Show threadSimon McGarrApr 10, 2024
If you are an academic, particularly one in the US, let me know what sort of prevailing norms on guest lecturing there might be.