Many lawyers and judges say “I did not advert my mind to…”; “His Lordship did not advert his mind to…”, etc.
This is wrong use of the word “advert”. When used in this sense, it has to be used with “to”. It becomes an intransitive verb and the meaning is “to turn one’s attention”, or “to refer”( see the Chambers Dictionary).
“To ‘advert to’ something is to refer to it, to bring it up in speech or writing, or to turn attention to it.” –Bryan A. Garner, Garner’s Modern English Usage, 4th ed. 26.
Thus, you cannot ‘advert your mind’ to anything. Rather, you ‘advert to’ it.
Example, “In the judgment, the learned trial judge did not advert to the earlier Supreme Court decision on the matter.”
