A deputy district judge in the family and county court has been issued with formal advice for misconduct after taking five months to issue a ruling.
Following a complaint by a party, the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office said Michael Horton KC ‘acknowledged that he had taken too long to produce the judgment and apologised’. Horton said the hearing had taken longer than anticipated. As a result, he could not deliver his judgment on the day.
‘Pressure of work and lack of judgment writing time had then contributed to the delay. When he was finally able to set aside time to write the judgment, it took him two full days,’ a spokesperson for the JCIO added.
Horton said he had since ‘reflected’ and sought advice from his judicial mentor to ensure his judgments would be delivered on time in future.
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An investigation found Horton said the delay amounted to misconduct. It highlighted that the judge had accepted responsibility for the delay, apologised and taken steps to prevent a recurrence of the problem.
The JCIO said: ‘The guide to judicial conduct states that judicial office-holders are expected to display diligence and care in the discharge of judicial duties.’
