A not so dry January

Floyd Alexander-Hunt's Letter from London ... The lawyer-juror who searched the internet for answers ... 15-months is seen as a serious delay for judgment delivery ... Large-scale miscarriage of justice in fake fraud allegations ... The delivery driver who acted as an agent for panel beaters 

Many here in Blighty do dry January, so I've reserved all my dryness for this column. Truly, without a drink, how is one meant to cope with the 30 seconds of daylight and the bitter chill? 

Over the Christmas break, salacious legal gossip has been brewing in London. Do not fear - I have dutifully ignored my family all my holidays in order to bring you the latest ... 

Solicitor juror winds up in pokey 

A solicitor with a previously unblemished 25-year career, Caroline Mitchell, has been handed an eight-year suspension for researching trial evidence when she acted as a juror in March 2021. 

In Australia, legal practitioners are exempt from jury service, however in the UK this automatic immunity does not apply. 

The case in which Mitchell served as a juror involved historical sexual abuse allegations, and a key issue was whether the complainant had his own bedroom or shared it with his brother. As the alleged offence occurred 40 years prior, the dimensions of the bedroom were unknown and the jury was told not to speculate. 

Mitchell breached the trial judge's instructions by conducting an internet search on Rightmove regarding property dimensions. She was also caught showing her findings to another juror. 

The jury was discharged and a retrial ordered. In April 2022, Mitchell was sentenced to two months in prison and served four weeks. 

While in jail, Mitchell assisted inmates with family matters and helped them write their CVs. No doubt she added that to her CV. 

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal emphasised that Mitchell's actions jeopardised the case, necessitated a costly retrial and eroded public trust in the legal caper. 

Mitchell, who resigned from her law shop in 2022, claimed her online activity was unintentional and a momentary mistake after a challenging day. 

Apart from the eight-year suspension and disqualification from jury service for 10 years, she was ordered to pay £5,000 in costs. 

The takeaway is you can't bill for six minutes of research as a juror. 

Slow judge regrets

Murray: light spanking

Mr Justice Edward Murray, a High Court judge, has received formal advice for misconduct following a 15-month delay in issuing a judgment after the hearing. 

It turns out even judges need extensions, and not just in the form of wigs. 

The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) cited the judge's failure to provide accurate timelines to the parties and emphasised the requirement for judicial office-holders to display diligence and care. 

The judge expressed regret for the delay, attributing it to a busy workload and insufficient time for judgment writing and acknowledging the need for greater proactivity in securing time to prepare his reasons. 

Specific details about the judgment or the case were not disclosed by the JCIO. Misconduct sanctions for judicial office-holders range from formal advice, formal warning, and reprimand to removal from office. 

Murray, admitted to the roll in 1992 and a former partner at Allen & Overy, was dispatched to the High Court in 2018. 

To be fair, I'm actually a little late delivering this column so here's hoping I don't get reprimanded or removed from office – particularly because the "office" is my bed.

Posties persecuted

 

By now news of the British Post Office scandal has spread beyond the borders of the scepter'd isle. 

It's one of the great miscarriages of justice, in which the Brits are specialists. Between 1999 and 2015, over 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted for theft, fraud and false accounting. 

These zealous prosecutions were the result of Horizon's faulty accounting software. 

It's something akin to the fake fraud prosecutions launched by Australia's Centrelink, and it's the biggest cultural impact for the Post Office since Postman Pat and his black and white cat.

Earlier this month, ITV broadcast a four-part series Mr Bates vs The Post Office and since then another 130 people have come forward with fresh complaints about wrongful accusations. 

At least four suicides have been linked to multiple miscarriages of justice. 

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has emphasised that there is currently no immediate need to take action against lawyers implicated in shonky prosecutions. 

Rob Wilson, the former Post Office head of criminal prosecutions, had responded to doubts about Horizon by saying the PO should 'grit its teeth and get on with prosecuting’.https://t.co/gZSLss6f3J

— John Hyde (@JohnHyde1982) January 10, 2024

Ongoing investigations into the conduct of lawyers are underway, with a team wading through tens of thousands of pages of evidence. 

In the latest phase of the inquiry, multiple solicitors have provided testimony addressing their role and actions in the cases under scrutiny.

Also this month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced legislation to exonerate wrongly convicted sub-postmasters. The new law seeks to ensure that victims of the Horizon scandal are "swiftly exonerated and compensated". 

The Grauniad has lots more background. 

Crashing for cash

Forensic investigation

A former Tesco delivery driver, Reyhan Safi, has been ordered to pay his former employer £18,000 in exemplary damages after staging a series of crashes. 

Over three months, Safi was involved in four "crash for cash" accidents, revealing a network of connected repair shops and storage sites in West London. 

Getting cash for my numerous touch parking violations would be a decent supplement to my miserable stipend.

The court heard that Safi intentionally drove into a claimant's vehicle, leading to Tesco updating its vehicles with all-round cameras.

Judge Heather Baucher said the case involved an "unprecedented scale" of fraud and conspiracy which engaged the court in five weeks of litigation with reference to over 60,000 documents. 

The judge noted that it "would not have been brought to light without the diligence and forensic work undertaken by those instructed on behalf of Tesco". 

Tesco being lauded for their forensic work was not on my 2024 bingo card - but if we're showing gratitude, then I thank the £3.90 meal deal for covering my backside when it's "my turn to cook" dinner.