A magistrate who accessed a court database for personal reasons has been issued with a reprimand for misconduct. Karen Earnshaw, from the Cheshire bench, used the system to check on the location of a case involving a relative, in which she was a witness. She was also reported to have mentioned her judicial status in a related telephone call.
Earnshaw accepted she accessed the court database and referred to her judicial status during the telephone conversation. The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office said she accepted ‘her actions were improper and apologised’.
It added: ‘Magistrates sign a declaration and undertaking on appointment, which includes an agreement to be circumspect in their conduct and maintain the dignity, standing and good reputation of the magistracy at all times in their private, working and public lives.’
An investigation found Earnshaw had accessed the court database once to establish the location of the case. Her actions were ‘in breach of the important requirement that judicial office holders should only access court databases in the context of carrying out judicial functions’.
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The investigation found Earnshaw’s actions, including the telephone call in which she mentioned her judicial status, ‘amounted to serious misconduct’.
Mr Justice Keehan, on behalf of the lady chief justice, and with the lord chancellor’s agreement, issued Earnshaw with a reprimand.
Sanctions for misconduct by judicial office holders are, in order of severity formal advice, formal warning, reprimand and removal from office.
