The judicial appointments team ask heads of chambers for nominations…a happy moment for the chambers. “oh yes”, says the head of chambers enthusiastically as he names the deadweights he’s desperate to rid himself of.
No one would suggest Judge Williams, the one-time Legal Aid officer, arrived in the High Court this way….but….
Below is Judge Williams from a 2015 leaflet when he contested Wycombe for Labour and lost badly.
JUDGE WILLIAMS…
The Guardian has written a sober piece about Judge Williams and his ban on the naming of fellow family court judges. The big question is why Williams refuses to name three judges. These duds badly failed the murdered and tortured Sara Sharif
From the Guardian, “The high court judge who banned the media from reporting the names of the fellow judges who oversaw three sets of family court proceedings relating to the murdered schoolgirl Sara Sharif, on Friday night refused permission to appeal against his decision.
The reporting restriction protecting judges’ identities that was made by Mr Justice Williams on Monday is thought to be unprecedented in relation to family court proceedings.
Two reporters who specialise in reporting on the family justice system – the authors of this piece – lodged the first press application in September 2023 for court documents relating to child protection concerns for Sara Sharif. Backed by Tortoise Media, they will now pursue their application for permission to appeal to the court of appeal against the current judge’s upholding of his decision to anonymise the previous judges.”
The papers released to the press show that one judge presided over all three family court cases, which included two sets of care proceedings brought by Surrey county council, and one private law application made by Urfan Sharif asking the court to agree that Sara and her sibling could live with him. On a single occasion, a different judge made an emergency protection order.
In a democracy, it is the norm that judges are named in relation to cases over which they preside and the decisions they make.”
We often complain about the media but when the Establishment closes ranks we desperately need them. Well done, The Times and Guardian for attacking this judge.
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