Life as a barrister never was terribly real to me, and courtrooms were always a place of fantasy to me. They had nothing to do with discovering the truth, really, of course.
- John Mortimer
John Mortimer the barrister and writer died in 2009 and many felt we had lost a national treasure, which he certainly was. Much like Arthur Conan Doyle and his creation Sherlock Holmes, Mortimer became identified with his comic creation, Rumple of the Bailey, an ageing wit and hack barrister trudging along working the criminal courts for the defence. Such was the shadow of Rumpole that Mortimer’s legal achievements were often overlooked - of which were considerable.
His own father was a doyenne of the divorce courts and Mortimer followed his father’s footsteps into the legal profession at the bar, but to undertake civil liberties cases and censorship cases.
As a campaigner he helped to achieve abolition of the death penalty and of the censorship of the theatre by that doltish establishment figure, the Lord Chamberlain. The cases he took as a barrister, defending Last Exit to Brooklyn, Oz, The Little Red School Book and finally Inside Linda Lovelace are credited with abolishing censorship of the written word (although the iconic Page Three semi nude model appeared in the Sun shortly after his victory in the Oz appeal).
It is interesting to consider how his insights, expressed in his plays and books, influenced progressive law reform. Rumpole of the Bailey had a particular impact on the reception by juries of police evidence. It came at a time - the late 70s - when the Vaudeville routine of the police "verbal" was still in vogue. Hardened villains, immediately on their arrest, would always say "It's a fair cop, guv" or "You've got me this banged to rights this time" or make other incriminating remarks. At least, police would tell this to juries as they read from their concocted notes. Juries would believe them, having been led by television fare like BBC tv series, Dixon of Dock Green.
Rumpole of the Bailey presented a different picture. It showed how bent or overzealous police could secure convictions by forensic trickery. Many lawyers who laboured in the criminal courts often in very unsexy settings credited the series with the new willingness of juries to acquit in such cases. In due course the law was changed and all police interviews had to be tape recorded or video taped.
Rumpole can also be credited with helping to change the culture of the bar. Mortimer was always amused at the prejudice against criminal law amongst the legal establishment - as one senior judge had put it, "the Old Bailey is hardly the SW3 of the legal profession". Lawyers who practised in crime were looked down on and students who showed any interest in human rights (then called civil liberties) were warned that they might ruin their career. Rumpole helped the public – and the bar – to understand that the need to protect the liberty of the subject is the main justification for the profession, and certainly for its independence.
Photo: John Mortimer, the creator of Rumpole of the Bailey book series, poses with Leo McKern who made Rumpole a cultural icon.
