Sir David Calvert-Smith,
KC (born 6 April 1945), styled The Hon. Mr Justice Calvert-Smith, is a retired British judge. He was
Director of Public Prosecutions of England and Wales from 1998 to 2003 and then a
High Court judge. Educated at
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...
and
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...
, he was
called to the bar at the
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...
in 1969 and became a
queen'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 o ...
in 1997. He was knighted in 2002 and sat as a High Court judge from 2005 to 2012. Mr Justice Calvert-Smith is an honorary member of
QEB Hollis Whiteman.
Career
Early career
After beginning his career both prosecuting and defending, he specialised in prosecution work from 1986, including several cases of murder, terrorism and organised crime.
Directorship of Public Prosecutions
In October 1998, he became Director of Public Prosecutions and head of the
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal advi ...
, a post he held for five years. During his tenure, the failure of the prosecutions of
Paul Burrell
Paul Burrell (born 6 June 1958) is a former servant of the British Royal Household and latterly butler to Princess Diana.
Background and Royal Household career
Burrell was born and raised in Grassmoor, Derbyshire, a coal-mining village. His ...
and the killers of
Damilola Taylor
Damilola Adegbite (born Oluwadamilola Adegbite; 18 May 1985) is Nigerian actress, Model, and Television personality. She played Thelema Duke in the soap opera ''Tinsel'', and Kemi Williams in the movie '' Flower Girl''. She won Best Actress in a T ...
damaged the Service's reputation, and the CPS was described as "institutionally racist" by him and two reports. Notable successes were the prosecutions of serial killer
Harold Shipman
Harold Frederick Shipman (14 January 1946 – 13 January 2004), known by the public as Doctor Death and to acquaintances as Fred Shipman, was an English general practitioner and serial killer. He is considered to be one of the most prolif ...
and former spy
David Shayler
David Shayler (; born 24 December 1965) is a former British MI5 officer and a conspiracy theorist. Shayler was prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act 1989 for passing secret documents to ''The Mail on Sunday'' in August 1997 that alleged th ...
.
When the
Human Rights Act 1998 was passed (most of which came into force in 2000), Calvert-Smith was the first DPP to have to deal with the impact it was expected to have on criminal trials.
In 2002, he opposed proposals to change the law to deem a person found in possession of drugs to be guilty of ''possession with intent to supply'' if the quantity exceeded a certain amount. In a letter to Parliament, he wrote: "the best approach is for the jury to focus on weighing the evidence tending to demonstrate intent to supply ... as opposed to this issue being determined with reference to an arbitrary amount". However, the law was changed after he left office, by section 2 of the
Drugs Act 2005
The Drugs Act 2005 (c 17) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It mee ...
, which was never commenced and was repealed by the Policing and Crime Act 2009, s 112(2), Sch 8, Pt 13.
Towards the end of his term, he piloted a new system in which CPS lawyers, instead of police officers, would make decisions about charging suspects, resulting in a 15 percent increase in convictions. This policy was fully implemented by his successor.
Later career
In 2004, he was acting director of the
Customs and Excise Prosecutions Office. In 2005, he led an inquiry for the
Commission for Racial Equality
The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom which aimed to address racial discrimination and promote racial equality. The commission was established in 1976, and disbanded in 2007 when its ...
into how the police forces of
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
deal with racism within their ranks. The inquiry reported in March 2005. At a press conference, Calvert-Smith said that "willingness to change at the top is not translating into action lower down, particularly in middle-management where you find the ice in the heart of the Police Service."
On 11 January 2005, Calvert-Smith was appointed as a judge of the High Court.
Retirement
Calvert-Smith retired from the High Court (Queen's Bench Division) on 30 September 2012.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calvert-Smith, David
1945 births
Living people
Alumni of King's College, Cambridge
People educated at Eton College
English King's Counsel
Directors of Public Prosecutions (England and Wales)
21st-century English judges
Knights Bachelor
Members of the Middle Temple
Queen's Bench Division judges
20th-century King's Counsel