A magistrate has been issued with a formal warning for misconduct over sharing case papers with a mentee.
Madeleine Bonser, a mentor to new magistrates, was made aware of a policy that case papers must not be shared with mentees observing court proceedings as part of their training, a spokesperson for the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office said.
A complaint was made about Bonser after she requested court administration staff to provide ‘certain’ case papers to a mentee. The JCIO said: ‘The guide to judicial conduct advises judicial office holders to avoid situations which might reasonably reduce respect for judicial office. Magistrates sign a declaration and undertaking on appointment to be circumspect in their conduct and maintain the dignity, standing and good reputation of the magistracy at all times.’
Bonser accepted she made the request for the case papers to be shared with a mentee, but she had no power or desire to ‘unilaterally rescind the policy’. She said she ‘assumed that the policy had changed after case papers had been shared with a mentee on another occasion’ and her assumption has been ‘reinforced’ when the request was actioned by the court administration staff.
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An investigation found that by Bonser making the request – despite being made aware of the policy on three occasions – she failed to ‘uphold the reputation of the judiciary or be circumspect in her conduct’. Bonser, who had an 18-year unblemished conduct record, was found to have failed to take responsibility for her actions and attempted to blame the court administration staff.
Mr Justice Keehan, on behalf of the lady chief justice, and with the lord chancellor’s agreement, issued Bonser with a formal warning for misconduct.
