Obiter’s favourite news this month has been the introduction of Mr Speaker’s new cat Clem. He will be joining mouse-catcher extraordinaire Attlee in the Speaker’s House. Attlee is so popular he has a little line of merchandise that can be bought at the Houses of Parliament shop.

We also know of some other public buildings which could use a resident mouser. It is no secret that the courts estate is in dire straits. We’ll ignore the leaks, broken toilets, and too cold or too hot courtrooms and instead focus on the fact that mice are not a surprise but the norm in some courts (we will not mention any names, so don’t worry Southwark).

Surely a courthouse cat - there are plenty of rescues looking for new homes - would be a cost effective way of keeping rodent populations down? If they fail at their job, nobody can truly get angry because the court will have a cute cat.

For those who do not like cats, please take one for the team. It’s likely the court cat will avoid you, too. For those who prefer the mice, the chances of the court cat being able to get on top of it all is the kind of optimism we need as we all try to prop up our justice system as best as we can while we wait for that pot of gold.

Now that is settled, we need some good names. Suggestions, please, to obiter@lawsociety.org.uk.

A cat and the lady justice figure

Source: iStock

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