It might not be the most riveting courtroom drama since A Few Good Men, but this week’s Article 50 extravaganza will be the longest televised live in this country.

The Supreme Court will take four days to hear arguments about whether the government can trigger it unilaterally, or must allow parliament its twopenn’orth. So rush to the supermarket without delay for that 3-for-2 deal on the buttered popcorn.

Although the full complement of 11 Justices take their seats tomorrow, their judgment isn’t expected until mid-late January. The wheels of justice, and all that. Or, as I remember Mama saying, according to some earlier Supremes, “You can’t hurry law, no, you’ll just have to wait.”

Theresa May refuses to say she will defend judges from press attacks ahead of Brexit judgement

Yet already impatient media elements are trying to undermine a result widely expected to confirm the High Court ruling that Parliament must have its say before Britain (excuse the baffling legalese; sometimes it’s unavoidable) gives Brussels the finger.

Daily Mail. In a rare lapse of self-control, the paper which depicted those High Court judges as “Enemies of the People” is driven to apoplexy by the prospect of the Supremes straying from their remit by applying the law as they see it. Although this has often been pointed out, the irony that Brexit’s aim is the restoration of parliamentary sovereignty continues to evade theIn a rare lapse of self-control, the paper which depicted those High Court judges as “Enemies of the People” is driven to apoplexy by the prospect of the Supremes straying from their remit by applying the law as they see it.

On Saturday it launched a pre-emptive nuclear strike by styling any future judgment against the use of prerogative powers – a tyrannical manoeuvre which pre-dates our democracy – as a hateful affront to democracy. It also personalised the issue in freedom’s cause by examining the Justices’ alleged personal feelings about Europe. Or in the case of David “Diana Ross” Neuberger, president and leader of the Supremes, his wife’s. And his sister’s.

The Mail revealed that Angela Neuberger, his spouse, tweeted strongly for Remain. While his rabbinical sister Julia Neuberger was so distressed by Brexit that she did what still feels vaguely counterintuitive for a Jewish person and applied for a German passport.

Not a dickie-bird about his lordship’s own thoughts about Europe, possibly because he’s never expressed any. But who cares about that when everyone knows that all powerful men are the obedient mouthpieces of their womenfolk? Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre is a caricature of a bleeding-heart liberal, for instance, who yearns for a high-tax, high-spend society modelled on Denmark. But what can he do when Mrs D has no time for immigrants or the rule of law?

Other Supremes are equally Europhile in the Mail’s estimation, and the evidence can’t lightly be dismissed. An usher once overheard one of them, as a young barrister, humming a Wagnerian aria in the Snaresbrook magistrates’ court urinals (when the protocol, as every law student knows, requires the Dambusters’ theme tune.) Another is known to eat bratwurst without projectile vomiting over a photo of Helmut Schmidt. Last Sunday, according to neighbours, Lady Hale refused to take an axe to the telly when Nico Rosberg edged out Lewis Hamilton for the F1 world title.

The Supremes will not be spooked by this subtle scheming to frame a displeasing judgment as an affront to decency. These wizened old birds are more robust than your average tabloid quarry, and may even be mildly amused by the synthesised hysteria. There is something droll about the Mail setting itself up against powerful jurisprudential minds in an impartiality contest.

What experts have said about Brexit Show all 11 1 /11 What experts have said about Brexit What experts have said about Brexit Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond The Chancellor claims London can still be a world financial hub despite Brexit “One of Britain’s great strengths is the ability to offer and aggregate all of the services the global financial services industry needs” “This has not changed as a result of the EU referendum and I will do everything I can to ensure the City of London retains its position as the world’s leading international financial centre.” Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Yanis Varoufakis Greece's former finance minister compared the UK relations with the EU bloc with a well-known song by the Eagles: “You can check out any time you like, as the Hotel California song says, but you can't really leave. The proof is Theresa May has not even dared to trigger Article 50. It's like Harrison Ford going into Indiana Jones' castle and the path behind him fragmenting. You can get in, but getting out is not at all clear” Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Michael O’Leary Ryanair boss says UK will be ‘screwed’ by EU in Brexit trade deals: “I have no faith in the politicians in London going on about how ‘the world will want to trade with us’. The world will want to screw you – that's what happens in trade talks,” he said. “They have no interest in giving the UK a deal on trade” Getty What experts have said about Brexit Tim Martin JD Wetherspoon's chairman has said claims that the UK would see serious economic consequences from a Brexit vote were "lurid" and wrong: “We were told it would be Armageddon from the OECD, from the IMF, David Cameron, the chancellor and President Obama who were predicting locusts in the fields and tidal waves in the North Sea" PA What experts have said about Brexit Mark Carney Governor of Bank of England is 'serene' about Bank of England's Brexit stance: “I am absolutely serene about the … judgments made both by the MPC and the FPC” Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Christine Lagarde IMF chief urges quick Brexit to reduce economic uncertainty: “We want to see clarity sooner rather than later because we think that a lack of clarity feeds uncertainty, which itself undermines investment appetites and decision making” Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Inga Beale Lloyd’s chief executive says Brexit is a major issue: "Clearly the UK's referendum on its EU membership is a major issue for us to deal with and we are now focusing our attention on having in place the plans that will ensure Lloyd's continues trading across Europe” EPA What experts have said about Brexit Colm Kelleher President of US bank Morgan Stanley says City of London ‘will suffer’ as result of the EU referendum: “I do believe, and I said prior to the referendum, that the City of London will suffer as result of Brexit. The issue is how much” What experts have said about Brexit Richard Branson Virgin founder believes we've lost a THIRD of our value because of Brexit and cancelled a deal worth 3,000 jobs: We're not any worse than anybody else, but I suspect we've lost a third of our value which is dreadful for people in the workplace.' He continued: "We were about to do a very big deal, we cancelled that deal, that would have involved 3,000 jobs, and that’s happening all over the country" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Barack Obama US President believes Britain was wrong to vote to leave the EU: "It is absolutely true that I believed pre-Brexit vote and continue to believe post-Brexit vote that the world benefited enormously from the United Kingdom's participation in the EU. We are fully supportive of a process that is as little disruptive as possible so that people around the world can continue to benefit from economic growth" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Kristin Forbes American economist and an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England argues that the economy had been “less stormy than many expected” following the shock referendum result: “For now…the economy is experiencing some chop, but no tsunami. The adverse winds could quickly pick up – and merit a stronger policy response. But recently they have shifted to a more favourable direction” Getty

But they will fret about the corrosive impact of the reactionary press and Nigel Farage (who made that elegant threat to lead a 100,000-strong march on the High Court) screeching about a judicial coup d’etat against the popular will.

So they should. So should we all. In volatile times, it is vital that the judiciary’s fragile constitutional status in a tripartite system – alongside the executive and the legislature (that’s the parliament we all want to be sovereign again) – isn’t weakened by spiteful rabble-rousing.

The Supremes, who cannot go to war with the Daily Mail, Telegraph and The Sun, have to rely on politicians with the guts to defend them. Weeks of newspaper judge-baiting would damage an already frail constitutional settlement if pro-Brexit ministers collude it in with silence. The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, David Davis, Liam Fox and others are honour-bound to nip the nastiness in the bud, regardless of any political cost from antagonising their friends in the press.

They should make it plain now, as the case begins, that they have every faith in the Supreme Court to decide it on the law, and expect everyone else to accept that decision regardless of its implications about the timing of Article 50 and the negotiating stance that follows.

That is the bare minimum. It would be lovely if the PM pointed out the bleedin’ obvious that attempting to intimidate judges is a shamefully unpatriotic abuse of power without responsibility.

That might seem too incendiary to a leader with a small and shrinking majority, and colleagues warning that Brexit chaos could jeopardise her hold on power, who may want to call a general election within months.