Dame Christina Caroline Lambert DBE, styled Mrs Justice Lambert is a British High Court judge.

Early life and education

Lambert was born on 15 August 1963 in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

. She attended Central Newcastle High School for Girls. She studied history at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

, and law at City University, London. After graduating, Lambert worked at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

Career

Before completing her

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

training course, in 1988 Lambert was awarded a grant by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

of £3.500 and a Yarbrough-Anderson scholarship of £300 in August 1988. (''£ in 2019''). After completing her Pupillage, Lambert was called to the

in 1988 and began her tenancy at '6 Pump Court'

chambers Chambers may refer to: Places Canada: * Chambers Township, Ontario United States: * Chambers County, Alabama *Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County *Chambers, Nebraska * Chambers, West Virginia *Chambers Township, Holt ...

. She later moved to '1 Crown Office Row' where she remained until taking up office. She was appointed

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 2009. In 2012 Lambert was appointed as Lead Counsel to the

Dame Janet Smith Review In October 2012, Janet Smith (judge), Dame Janet Smith was appointed by the BBC to lead an inquiry into the corporation's connection to the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal, sexual abuse committed by Jimmy Savile, a popular television and radio ...

into the culture and practices of the BBC relating to the sexual abuse of

Jimmy Savile Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile (; 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English DJ, television and radio personality who hosted BBC shows including ''Top of the Pops'' and ''Jim'll Fix It''. During his lifetime, he was well known ...

. Between 2014 and 2016, Lambert acted as lead counsel for the

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

in the Hillsborough disaster inquest. She remarked that the inquest as the most memorable moment in her career.

“During my questioning of the match commander, David Duckenfield, he admitted that he lied about fans forcing the exit gate to gain entry to the stadium: the court — packed with the relatives of those who died — fell completely silent.”

High Court appointment

Lambert was appointed as a High Court judge on 11 January 2018 and assigned to the Kings Bench Division by the Lord Chief Justice. In May 2019, She received the customary title of

Dame Commander of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

from Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Altho ...

. She is an honorary fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

Notable cases

Lambert presided over the trial of Savannah Brockhill and Frankie Smith, for the murder of Star Hobson. She also presided over the 2023 trial of David Boyd, for the murder of Nikki Allan, that had remained unsolved since 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Christina 1963 births Living people Queen's Bench Division judges Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Alumni of City, University of London People educated at Central Newcastle High School

Early life and education

Career

High Court appointment

Notable cases

See also

Further reading

References