Law Weblog

Sir Brian Kerr appointed last ever Law Lord

Tuesday 30 June 2009 at 6:52 am | In News | Post Comment Sir Brian Kerr, who took his seat in the House of Lords on Monday, is the last Law Lord to be appointed.

Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore, formerly the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, replaces the retiring Lord Carswell as a Law Lord.

From October, the Law Lords will become Justices of the new Supreme Court which will take over the judicial functions of the House of Lords.

The 61-year-old was called to the Bar in Northern Ireland in 1970, to the Bar of England and Wales in 1974 and became a QC in 1983.

He was appointed a High Court Judge in Northern Ireland in 1993, the same year he was knighted, and in 2004 he was appointed Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland.

Judge Gerald Price QC, suspended

Tuesday 30 June 2009 at 6:46 am | In News | Post Comment A statement from the Office for Judicial Complaints, which is running an inquiry into Judge Price, said: ‘Having considered the allegations against Judge Price, the Lord Chief Justice and Lord Chancellor have decided that he should be suspended pending the outcome of the investigation by the Office for Judicial Complaints into his conduct.’

Judge Price is alleged to have behaved inappropriately in his relationship with a rent boy.

Full story in the Mail

The judge, the rent-boy and the News of the World

Sunday 21 June 2009 at 9:17 am | In News | Post Comment A 60-year-old Crown Court circuit judge in Wales, Gerald Price QC, is alleged to have been involved with a 25-year-old rent-boy. The News of the World has exposed his private and professional life in today’s paper.
The Office for Judicial Complaints will consider the case.

News of the World story here

No jury in criminal trial

Thursday 18 June 2009 at 10:34 pm | In News | Post Comment The Court of Appeal has ruled that a criminal trial can take place at Crown Court without a jury for the first time in England and Wales.

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, made legal history by agreeing to allow the trial to be heard by a judge alone.

It is the first time the power has been used since it came into force in 2007.

The case concerns four men accused of an armed robbery at Heathrow Airport in 2004. The judge said jury “tampering” was a “very significant” danger.

BBC news report here