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SCMP Reporter

IT is known as the Joe Duffy show, the most entertaining way to spend a day in court. Laughter can quickly follow tears as Hong Kong's most outspoken judge gets to grips with many of the territory's quirkiest cases.

   Of course, court hearings are not there to entertain and Mr Justice Duffy has never lost sight of the serious duty he has to perform.

  His sharp legal brain and fearless refusal to depart from his principles have made him one of Hong Kong's most respected judges.

  Mr Duffy has rarely been out of the headlines in recent months as his reputation as a champion of the underdog grew.

  But his compassion, which has led to him frequently releasing prisoners on humanitarian grounds, has also brought him criticism.

  As he prepares to retire later this month, Mr Duffy has responded to those who accuse him of going soft.

  Reflecting on his 24-year career in Hong Kong he staunchly defended the right of judges to temper justice with mercy.

  'I cannot apologise for being humane,' he said.

  'If I allow appeals on humanitarian grounds it is because I feel the situation requires that I should do so. Every day we deal with people whose lives are lived out in very straightened, and often impoverished circumstances.

  'To apply the strict letter of the law in every situation is neither humane nor is it necessary. Our society is a well-ordered society and Hong Kong is one of the safest cities in the world in which to live.

  'We are well protected for the most part against the criminal, and there should always be room for mercy in our hearts, especially when dealing with immigrants whose only sin is that they have come to Hong Kong because they want a chance to earn some money to support their families.'   It is this firm belief which sparked the judge's courtroom campaign to stop the incarceration of pregnant women who sneak across the border from China.

   Mr Duffy declared he would keep releasing the women on appeal until the policy was changed.

  He said the courts were embarrassed by the fact that new-born babies often ended up in prison with their mothers and urged the Government to send the women back to China instead. Over the years, Mr Duffy has been involved in many high-profile cases, including the inquest into the death of film idol Bruce Lee and the trial of serial killer Lam Kor-wan who preserved his victim's sex organs in plastic jars.

  More recently he dealt with the territory's first corporate manslaughter trial, over a lift disaster in which 12 workers died, and the world's largest cash robbery, the $167 million airport raid.

  The judge, who comes from Dundee in Scotland, came to Hong Kong in 1972 to work for the Legal Department after taking a law degree and working as an adviser to an insurance firm and then a solicitor.

  He moved up through the ranks and was appointed Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in 1984.

  Many government lawyers still regard him as one of the best DPPs the territory has had.

  But he stepped down from the post in 1986 because he was suffering from a heart condition and had been advised by doctors to avoid stress.

  'Obviously being appointed as DPP was a great honour, but I found the job very stressful, and as with my predecessors in the post, it led to serious health problems,' he said.

  His appointment as a judge the following year sparked controversy.

  'At the time I was a rather sick man and there was, perhaps not unnaturally, some resentment within the judiciary that the judge's tasks were thought not to present such a stressful challenge as those confronting the DPP,' he said.

  BUT a bypass operation was a success and Mr Duffy says he was then 'arguably one of the fittest High Court judges sitting'.

  But he regrets that his move to the judiciary was 'under a bit of a cloud' and sees no reason why government lawyers should not be appointed to the bench so long as the decisions are made on merit.

  As a judge, Mr Duffy prepares his cases thoroughly. He does not spare barristers who fail to do the same.

  'I do not agree that I set very high standards for counsel who appear before me. It is simply my view that any counsel who appears in the High Court to prosecute or defend serious criminal cases should have the necessary experience and competence to do so, and should be well prepared.

  'I should have thought that to expect that was to set minimum and not maximum standards.

  'I was certainly not prepared to accept anything less,' he said.

  Mr Duffy even halted a trial in 1993 because of his concerns over a barrister's ability to defend his client properly.

  His final months as a judge have been spent presiding over appeals from sentences given in magistrates courts.

  Mr Duffy has found himself dealing with a wide variety of characters, including a thief who stole nothing but bath oil and a husband who tried to cool a row with his wife by using a fire hose.

  He cuts through the legal jargon and deals with the appeals in a way which ensures the prisoners, who often are not represented by a lawyer, understand.

  His sense of humour has helped him when listening to some of the excuses put forward in the hope that a conviction will be quashed.

  A shoplifter, for example, claimed she was wearing two bras because she was cold - in May.

  Tall tales will be met with a raising of the eyebrow, the hint of a chuckle, and the words: 'That is not a very good story.'   But many appellants have been successful. A taxi driver described by Mr Duffy as a menace to other road users was freed because of his troubled family circumstances.

  An illegal immigrant who asked to be freed so she could donate a kidney to her dying mother also won the judge's sympathy.

  His actions have led at least one prisoner to compare Mr Duffy to the well-known television character Judge Pao, renowned for his wisdom and sense of fair play.

  Some magistrates have been unhappy to see their decisions overturned by Mr Duffy on humanitarian grounds, and one barrister said: 'There are people who think he has gone off the rails.

  'He is allowing appeals which should stand on legal grounds because he feels sorry for the applicants.

  'He is a sucker for the weepy tale.'   But others have been quick to defend Mr Duffy.

   Senior Government Lawyer Andrew Bruce said: 'He is a fine judge and an excellent lawyer, a man who, to use an American expression, calls them as he sees them. He is a man who is prepared to say what he thinks is right and stand up for it. He is an old-style judge and he will be missed.'   Mr Duffy, when freed from the 'tyranny of the court diary', will return to Dundee. He intends to hill walk in Scotland and Europe, write about his Hong Kong experiences, work in his garden and indulge his passion for golf.

  The 59-year-old father of three does not rule out a return to legal work in Scotland in 1997 but says it is so long since he practised there he will need to do three or four months pupillage first.

  The judge is sure that an independent judiciary and Bar will continue after the handover to protect the existing system of justice and to ensure it is not compromised.

  He says it has been a strange and stimulating feeling to live through the making of history and a privilege to have seen and been part of the 'modern miracle' of Hong Kong's development.

  'I will miss all my friends and colleagues.

   'I will miss the extraordinary people who are attracted to Hong Kong like bears to a honey pot and the extraordinary events which mark Hong Kong as a unique place,' he said.

WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT THE JUDGE 'There are people who think he has gone off the rails. He allows appeals which should stand on legal grounds because he feels sorry for the applicants. He is a sucker for the weepy tales' 'He is a fine judge and an excellent lawyer, a man who calls them as he sees them. He is a man who is prepared to say what he thinks is right and stand up for it. He is an old-style judge.' 



Justice according to Duffy