That is the one word that forms the bedrock of our judicial system. Judges must be seen to be independent, and actually be independent. Appointment to the bench necessarily curtails the judge’s social life. As the old saying goes – it is lonely at the top.
In Lewis v Judge Ogden (1984) 153 CLR 682, a naughty Melbourne Barrister found himself fronting the High Court for the following football analogy: