The Lawyer Who Argued With The Judge For 45 Minutes About The Wrong Section

I was in Court 7 this morning when a young lawyer stood up to move a bail application. He cited Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution. Correct section. But then he started arguing with Justice Adeyemi about whether the section had been amended. For 45 minutes. The judge kept saying 'Counsel, that is not what the section says.' The boy kept talking.

See ehn, the law is not about how loud you can shout. It is about reading. I have seen lawyers who memorised every section but never opened the law report. The judge finally told him to sit down and come back tomorrow with the correct authorities. The defendant, a young man who had been in custody for three weeks, just looked at the floor. That is the part that pains me.

You get right to bail. But you also get right to a lawyer who has done his homework. If your lawyer is not prepared, the court will not do the work for him. Ask your lawyer questions. Ask him which section. Ask him if he has the authority. If he cannot answer, you have a problem.

How many of us even know what Section 35 actually says?