£3k
A barrister has been fined £3,000 by the Bar Tribunals & Adjudication Service after he was reported to be drinking alcohol in his car during a break in a criminal trial.
Dominic Charles D’Souza was representing a client at Snaresbrook Crown Court in North East London when, during a break in proceedings, he consumed alcohol in his car which was parked in the court’s carpark. The tribunal does not disclosed what exactly he drank.
When this behaviour was reported to the judge, D’Souza withdrew from the case, following which the jury was discharged and a new trial date was fixed.
D’Souza, a tenant of London’s Goldsmith Chambers, admitted all three charges against him, conceding that he had behaved in a way likely to diminish public trust in his profession, as well as wasting the time of the court and foreseeably interfering with the administration of justice.
The barrister was fined £3,000, £1,000 on each charge, and ordered to pay £2,670 in costs, although the findings and sanction remain open to appeal.
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