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In contrast to Spencer's escaping from professional scrutiny of his motives and actions and his subsequent flourishing career, Williams's and Meadow's professional reputations were significantly harmed and both were later both found by the [[General Medical Council]] to be guilty of serious professional misconduct.<ref>http://www.bmj.com/content/331/7510/177.1</ref><ref>http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/330/7504/1347</ref> |
In contrast to Spencer's escaping from professional scrutiny of his motives and actions and to his subsequent flourishing career, Williams's and Meadow's professional reputations were significantly harmed and both were later both found by the [[General Medical Council]] to be guilty of serious professional misconduct.<ref>http://www.bmj.com/content/331/7510/177.1</ref><ref>http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/330/7504/1347</ref> |
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Sally Clark never recovered from the serious psychologically damaging effects of her wrongful conviction, three year imprisonment and unsuccessful first appeal at a time when she was grieving for her deceased babies and separated from her third. She died unintentionally in 2007 from acute alcohol poisoning.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/7082411.stm</ref> |
Sally Clark never recovered from the serious psychologically damaging effects of her wrongful conviction, three year imprisonment and unsuccessful first appeal at a time when she was grieving for her deceased babies and separated from her third. She died unintentionally in 2007 from acute alcohol poisoning.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/7082411.stm</ref> |
Revision as of 11:03, 1 November 2015
The Hon. Mr Justice Spencer | |
---|---|
High Court Judge | |
Assumed office 2010 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 8 July 1955 |
Alma mater | Emmanuel College, Cambridge |
Sir Robin Spencer (born 8 July 1955), styled The Hon. Mr Spencer, is a British High Court judge.
He was educated at The King's School, Chester and Emmanuel College, Cambridge.[1]
He was called to the bar at Gray's Inn in 1978 and became a bencher there in 2005. He was made a QC in 1999, deputy judge of the High Court from 2001-2010, and judge of the High Court of Justice (Queen's Bench Division) since 2010.
Sally Clark trial
In 1999 Spencer was leading Counsel for the prosecution in the trial of Sally Clark a solicitor charged with the murder of her two babies. Despite being advised by forensic pathologist Professor Michael Green that his original opinion of the presence of retinal haemorrhages (indicating shaking of the baby) which had instigated the charges was unfounded Spencer zealously proceeded and opened the case against her by wrongly inferring that the babies had been shaken or smothered. [2] The forensic evidence against her was seriously and significantly flawed by the fact that pathologist Dr Alan Williams had incompetently and negligently withheld exculpatory evidence from both prosecution and defence teams; added to this was the prosecution's damaging erroneous statistical evidence given by paediatrician Professor Roy Meadow. Clark was found guilty and sent to prison. She maintained her innocence and eventually her conviction was overturned at a second appeal and she was freed in 2003. [3]
In his summing up Spencer had made reference to the happy and humorous letters Clark had written on behalf of her second child to his grandparents; he cruelly conjectured that they were not written in the sense of fun Clark had described but were actually 'real expressions of the tiredness, anger and frustration that the baby brought into her life'. Clark recorded her reaction to his comments. 'I can see myself now, sitting at my desk, writing that letter, Harry in his bouncy chair beside me, gurgling away. I cannot imagine a happier moment in his short life. Spencer is a monster to distort the reality in this way!' [4]
When Williams's withheld bacteriology reports were uncovered which showed that her second child died of an infection throughout his body (leading to the second appeal), the defence assumed that Spencer, as a 'good lawyer', would rightly acknowledge that the convictions were unsafe. In reality he did no such thing. He swiftly claimed (in a 52 page document) that the defence had had access to the reports all along. There was no truth in this. His disingenuity was pointed out by defence counsel Clare Montgomery QC.[5] He also expressed his intention to produce experts who disagreed with the implications of the reports.[6] It was only when prosecution witness Dr Nigel Klein conceded during the appeal that the second child did in fact have signs of meningitis before he died, and that the judges indicated that Williams's conduct was open to likely criticism by the court, that Spencer finally conceded:-
"...And my lord, the prosecution no longer seeks to uphold these convictions."[7]
Clark's husband, also a solicitor, made a complaint about the conduct of Spencer and his prosecution team. A Bar Council appointed QC prepared a charge sheet containing eight acts or omissions prejudicial to the administration of justice - serious professional misconduct. Mr Justice MacKinnon struck out the complaints preventing them from being examined and tested.[8]
In contrast to Spencer's escaping from professional scrutiny of his motives and actions and to his subsequent flourishing career, Williams's and Meadow's professional reputations were significantly harmed and both were later both found by the General Medical Council to be guilty of serious professional misconduct.[9][10]
Sally Clark never recovered from the serious psychologically damaging effects of her wrongful conviction, three year imprisonment and unsuccessful first appeal at a time when she was grieving for her deceased babies and separated from her third. She died unintentionally in 2007 from acute alcohol poisoning.[11]
Jimmy Mubenga death in custody trial
In 2014 Spencer was the judge in the trial of three G4S security guards charged with the manslaughter of Angolan Jimmy Mubenga. Spencer ruled that abusive racist text messages found on the mobile phones of two of the guards had 'no real relevance' to the trial. The three were acquitted.[12][13]
References
- ^ ‘SPENCER, Hon. Sir Robin (Godfrey)’, Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2014
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4723455/Against-the-odds.html
- ^ http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Crim/2003/1020.html
- ^ Batt, John (2005). Stolen Innocence. Ebury Press. p. 283. ISBN 9780091905699.
- ^ http://www.sallyclark.org.uk/SkeletonArgumentForAppeal.txt
- ^ Batt, John (2005). Stolen Innocence. Ebury Press. p. 424. ISBN 9780091905699.
- ^ Batt, John (2005). Stolen Innocence. Ebury Press. p. 155. ISBN 9780091905699.
- ^ Batt, John (2005). Stolen Innocence. Ebury Press. p. 476. ISBN 9780091905699.
- ^ http://www.bmj.com/content/331/7510/177.1
- ^ http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/330/7504/1347
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/7082411.stm
- ^ http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/dec/17/jimmy-mubenga-racist-texts-not-heard-case
- ^ http://www.andrewbradfordauthor.com/apps/blog/show/42949727-open-letter-to-mr-justice-spencer