A judge whose question during family proceedings ‘could be regarded as demonstrating a negative stereotype’ has been issued with formal advice for misconduct.
A party to family proceedings complained that Her Honour Judge Kharin Cox had suggested the reason that an application for a declaration of parentage involved the Home Office was that the applicant - a British-born UK citizen - was an immigrant.
The judge ‘accepted she had said she was “guessing” the need for the declaration was to do with the Home Office, after the complainant had mentioned needing it for administrative purposes’. She said: ‘However, this was not an assumption or assertion, but a query related to the reasons for the application. No prejudice was displayed.’
A spokesperson for the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office said: ‘The Guide to Judicial Conduct states that judicial office holders should seek to be courteous, patient and tolerant, and respect the dignity of all. They should also ensure that no one in court is exposed to any display of bias or prejudice.’
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An investigation found Cox’s comment ‘amounted to a questioning of the complainant’s immigration status’ which ‘could be regarded as demonstrating a negative stereotype based on the complainant’s presumed characteristics’. The JCIO said the investigation noted ‘it would have been possible to explore the reason for the application without making such a comment’.
It noted that Cox is a long-serving judge with a previously unblemished conduct record and the incident was a ‘single, ill-judged remark’ that was not intended to offend. The investigation found Cox ‘had also failed to recognise the inappropriateness of her conduct and had not apologised’.
The lady chief justice, with the lord chancellor’s agreement, issued Cox with formal advice for misconduct.
