Sir James Richard William Goss (born 12 May 1953), styled The Hon. Mr Justice Goss, is a judge of the High Court of England and Wales, assigned to the King's Bench Division. He was previously a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

, specialising in criminal law.

Early life and education

James Richard William Goss was born on 12 May 1953 to judge William Alan Belcher Goss and his wife Yvonne. He was educated at

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

, an independent

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

in Surrey. Goss studied at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

, where he was a member of

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

, and graduated in 1974 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(BA) degree. He was later appointed an

honorary fellow Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

Durham Law School Durham Law School is the law school of Durham University in Durham, England. In 2022, Durham Law was ranked 5th in the UK in a league table which averaged the rankings of the Complete University Guide, ''The Guardian'' and the ''Times'' Univers ...

. and is the patron of the Mr Justice Goss University College Law Prize, awarded to first-year undergraduate students.

Legal career

Goss was called to the bar at 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 ...

in 1975. He specialised in

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

, practising from No 6, a

barristers' chambers In law, a barrister's chambers or barristers' chambers are the rooms used by a barrister or a group of barristers. The singular refers to the use by a sole practitioner whereas the plural refers to a group of barristers who, while acting as sol ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, where he was head of chambers. He was a

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

from 1994 to 2009 and was appointed

on 8 April 1997. He was appointed a legal member of the Mental Health Tribunal in 2003 and of the Restricted Patients Panel in 2006. Goss became a circuit judge on the North Eastern Circuit on 14 December 2009. He served as a senior circuit judge and honorary recorder of

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 als ...

from 2011 to 2014. On 1 October 2014, Goss became a judge of the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cou ...

, succeeding Mr Justice Royce. He was assigned to the Queen's Bench Division and received the customary appointment as a

knight bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

Notable cases

In February 2017, Goss tried a case alone after dismissing the jury in a " crash-for-cash" case due to

jury tampering Jury tampering is the crime of unduly attempting to influence the composition and/or decisions of a jury during the course of a trial (law), trial. The means by which this crime could be perpetrated can include attempting to discredit potential ju ...

. This was the second time such a decision had been taken under statutory provisions introduced in 2007. Goss presided over the trial of Carl Beech in 2019, sentencing him upon conviction to 18 years' imprisonment for fabricating allegations of child rape and murder. Between October 2022 and August 2023, Goss presided over the trial of

Lucy Letby Lucy Letby (born 4 January 1990) is a British serial killer and former neonatal nurse convicted of the murder of seven infants and attempted murder of six others between June 2015 and June 2016. Letby was the focus of suspicion following a hi ...

, believed to be the longest murder trial in British legal history. On 21 August 2023 he sentenced Letby to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

with a

whole-life order In England and Wales, life imprisonment is a sentence that lasts until the death of the prisoner, although in most cases the prisoner will be eligible for early release after a minimum term set by the judge. In exceptional cases, however, a jud ...

on seven charges of murder and the seven of attempted murder (including two counts of attempted murder against one child), totalling 14 whole life orders. Letby consequently became one of the most prolific convicted murderers in British legal history, following a trial which lasted for nearly a year. Her sentence is, by volume of whole life orders imposed, the most severe sentence in

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 ...

since the abolition of the death penalty.

Personal life

Goss married in 1982. He has two sons and three daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goss, James 1953 births Living people People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of University College, Durham Members of the Inner Temple Queen's Bench Division judges Knights Bachelor British King's Counsel