King J reprimanded over 'unacceptable' delays to judgment
A High Court judge has been reprimanded by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, and Lord Chancellor, Chris Grayling MP, following a complaint.
The Office for Judicial Complaints (OJC) gave little details about the complaint it received about Queen’s Bench Division judge Mr Justice King other than to say that it regarded a late handing down of a judgment.
A statement read: “Following an investigation by the Office of Judicial Complaints regarding unacceptable delay by Mr Justice Timothy King in handing down a judgment, the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice have formally reprimanded him.”
King J was appointed as a judge to the Queen’s Bench Division, succeeding Mr Justice Toulson, the chairman of the Law Commission, in 2006 (21 December 2006). He was previously a member of Manchester set Byrom Street Chambers.
It is rare for a High Court judge to be reprimanded and the OJC is prevented from publishing details of the complaint or who made it.
Last year Court of Appeal judge Lord Justice Thorpe was reprimanded by the then Lord Chancellor Ken Clarke and Lord Judge LCJ over his driving ban (13 January 2012).
Readers' comments (2)
Guy Thomas | 5-Mar-2013 12:16 pm
Seems daft they won't even admit how late the judgement was.
Has anyone asked the MOJ how many delayed judgements were 6 months late (or more) last year?
....useful, even if it is only for guidance.
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Anonymous | 5-Mar-2013 4:03 pm
Would be interesting to know as just seen 2 reserved judgments handed down March 2013 from appeals in July 2012 and August 2012.
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