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| ‘Irritable’ judge
stopped teacher getting fair trial |
Appeal court throws out conviction
after complaints of ‘animosity’
AN Islington teacher has had a conviction for theft quashed
after complaints that an “irritable” judge prevented her
receiving a fair trial.
Judge Nicholas Medawar was said to have shown “animosity”
to the defence counsel, including “rolling of the eyes and
shaking of the head” when she was making points.
Angela Lashley, 45, was sentenced to a 60-hour community punishment
order after being found guilty at Snaresbrook Crown Court in September
last year of theft and obtaining property by deception.
At the Court of Appeal last week, Lord Justice Judge, sitting with
Mrs Justice Rafferty and Sir Douglas Brown, quashed the convictions.
He did not order a re-trial.
Ms Lashley’s barrister, Andrew Henley, referred to the “degree
of animosity” expressed by Judge Medawar to the defence counsel
at the Crown Court trial.
Mr Henley said: “An objective bystander would think one party
is not getting a fair hearing, which was expressed through animosity.”
Quashing Ms Lashley’s convictions, Lord Justice Judge said:
“These convictions followed an unsatisfactory trial.
“We expect judges to be robust, and we are not troubled when
counsel are over-sensitive to criticism.
“We also recognise that from time to time judges will become
impatient, sometimes unjustifiably so, without undermining the safety
of the conviction.
“The stark problem in the present case was that the judge’s
attitude and conduct towards counsel for the defendant was unfair.
“In truth, this trial became over-infused with what appears
to have been repeated and unnecessary demonstrations of inappropriate
personal animosity towards counsel, which involved public criticism
not only of her ability, but also of her integrity. These interfered
to a marked degree with the normal due process.”
The three judges ordered a re-trial in a separate case of Patrick
Bryant, 23, from Islington, who was convicted of causing grievous
bodily harm with intent, wounding with intent to do grievous bodily
harm and affray. He had pleaded self-defence. Referring to this
trial, Lord Justice Judge said: “We do not think it can be
right for a judge ever to give the impression that he favours the
prosecution case against that of the defendant.”
The judge, he concluded, had failed to maintain “neutrality”.
Judge Medawar, 72, was made Queen’s Counsel in 1984. He has
been a circuit judge since 1987 and was a member of the ethnic minority
advisory committee to the Judicial Studies Board from 1993 to 1996.
He is due to retire within the next nine months.
In February, he caused anger among lawyers and senior police officers
by throwing out a child sex abuse case, saying it was “trivial”.
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