It is not clear what relatives, legal representatives and the wider public expected when Lord Justice Weir embarked on his two-week review of controversial cases stuck in the inquest system for years, even decades.
They were probably not expecting such a robust and scathing response from one of Northern Ireland's most senior judges who cut through the excuses thrown up by the authorities with a bluntness not often heard in the our courtrooms where the language tends to be of the polite and understated variety.
Lord Justice Weir did not mince his words when dealing with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Thursday at a hearing into the SAS killing of four IRA men in Clonoe, Co Tyrone.
As we know, the familiar refrain from the PSNI and government agencies is the lack of resources available to trawl through legacy cases.
The judge declared: ``The MoD is not short of money, it is busy all over the world fighting wars and it's about to buy more submarines with nuclear warheads, so it's not short of money.''
He told an MoD lawyer the best way to avoid any suspicion of a deliberate attempt to delay and obfuscate is to ``let people see what you have got.''
In the case of Patrick McVeigh, shot dead by the Military Reaction Force in 1972, the judge said it was ``disgraceful'' that ``not one pick of paper has been given to the next of kin.''
We have heard similar sentiments throughout the past fortnight as the judge has reviewed dozens of highly contentious killings.
However, we also heard the PSNI put up a firm defence this week with Chief Constable George Hamilton saying that dealing with legacy cases is placing enormous strain on police resources.
Even with the difficulties around resources, it is simply unacceptable for a family to wait more than forty years for an inquest into a loved one's death.
In terms of these controversial cases, the state has obligations under international human rights law although the judge questioned the government's commitment to upholding its obligations.
Lord Justice Weir said the purpose of the review was to `break the logjam and move these cases along.'
Certainly, his no-nonsense approach will be welcomed by those hoping to see progress made on uncovering the full circumstances of these killings.
The next stage of this process will be crucial as families wait to see the outcome of the review and also find out if the judge's stern words lead to speedier disclosure of documents.
The PSNI and the MoD have been in the spotlight this past fortnight. It now remains to be seen if this pressure yields concrete results.
