Formal advice
A district judge has been given formal advice after being found to have behaved rudely towards a barrister and excluding him from a hearing, leaving his client unrepresented.
District Judge Nicola Murphy excluded the barrister from a directions hearing after repeatedly criticising his tone, in conduct the judicial watchdog found to be unjustified.
The complaint was brought by the barrister himself, who alleged that the judge had behaved in a “rude, aggressive, and bullying manner” towards him. He said that despite attempting to identify himself as counsel, the judge criticised his tone, refused to let him clarify his role, and excluded him from the hearing, leaving his client without representation.
The judge denied all allegations, saying her conduct was a direct response to the barrister’s “disrespectful and intimidating behaviour”. She said that despite repeated warnings and reference to the court’s “zero-tolerance policy”, the barrister continued to challenge the court’s authority, which led her to require his removal. Her approach, she explained, was driven by concerns about safety and maintaining proper standards of conduct in court.
Following an investigation, a nominated judge for the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) found that confusion had arisen at the start of the hearing after the usher introduced everyone present only as “the parties”. As a result, the judge initially mistook the barrister for his client.
After the barrister explained that he was acting as his client’s representative, the judge repeatedly criticised his tone. Having reviewed the audio recording, the nominated judge concluded that the barrister had been neither impolite nor discourteous, and that the judge’s criticisms, including her invocation of a zero-tolerance policy, were unjustified.
The nominated judge concluded that Murphy’s conduct was “rude”, made worse by the barrister being excluded in front of the parties. In recommending a sanction of formal advice, account was taken of her previously unblemished record.
The Lord Chancellor and the Lady Chief Justice agreed with the recommendation and issued Murphy with formal advice for misconduct, the lowest level of disciplinary sanction.