ABOUT to retire on health grounds, the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Taylor, today delivered a fierce parting shot at Home Secretary Michael Howard's plan for the minimum jail terms that judges would have to impose on repeat offenders.
But though Lord Taylor may speak for many in the judiciary, he does not speak for the people.
And though the proposed three-year minimum terms for persistent burglars and mandatory life sentences for such as second-time rapists may weaken judges' powers of discretion and overcrowd prisons - all in a quest for votes - we think Mr Howard has a better idea of what the public wants than do the judges.
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