If the legal work ever dries up, may Obiter suggest a job in printer repairs? Call-outs from the Ministry of Justice alone will surely make a career change worthwhile.

According to our freedom of information request, the number of ‘printer-related incidents’ reported in 2012 in courts across England and Wales was a remarkable 9,304 – an average of 25 a day. Or to put it another way, every court suffered a printer breakdown 23 times on average during 2012.

Indeed, court users told the Gazette there have been problems since (doubtless a coincidence) the commencement of something called the Development, Innovation and Support Contract (DISC).

We have been told by one mole that no one thought to check if the new software was compatible with the Libra computer system used in magistrates’ courts – with inevitable consequences.

Unfortunately, the MoJ declined to say how much its contractor was paid to install 3,500 new printers in domestic courts in the last 12 months.

But we can say that 667 were placed beyond economical repair – either replaced altogether or fixed with replacement parts.

Obiter would like to congratulate the MoJ on its devotion to paperless trials.