A judge has been issued with formal advice after asking an ethnic minority litigant who was born in the UK whether she had researched the law ‘in the country in which you are living’.
A statement published by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office last Friday states that the lord chief justice, with the lord chancellor’s agreement, issued Her Honour Judge Tacey Cronin with ‘formal advice for misconduct’.
According to the statement, Cronin ‘asked an ethnic minority litigant who was born in the UK whether she had researched the law “in the country in which you are living”. During an investigation of a complaint by the litigant, Cronin acknowledged her question offended the complainant and apologised.
‘A nominated judge concluded that by asking such a question HHJ Cronin had displayed an element of subconscious bias, appearing to imply that the complainant had not been born in the UK. The nominated judge made a finding of misconduct and recommended that HHJ Cronin receive a sanction of formal advice. The lord chief justice and lord chancellor agreed,’ the statement continues.
‘In reaching their decision, the lord chief justice and lord chancellor concluded that the judge’s question had unintentionally breached the expectation set out in the Guide to Judicial Conduct that judges should ensure nobody in court is exposed to displays of bias or prejudice. They also took into account that the judge accepted responsibility for her actions and apologised.’
The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 sets out sanctions for misconduct by judicial office-holders. They are, in order of severity: formal advice, formal warning, reprimand and removal from office.
