''R v Sussex Justices,
ex parte McCarthy'' (
924
__NOTOC__
Year 924 (Roman numerals, CMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.
Events January—March
* January 5 – The monastery of San Martín de Albelda is founded in the Kingdom of Navarre in what is now ...
1 KB 256,
923All ER Rep 233) is a leading
English case on the
impartiality
Impartiality (also called evenhandedness or fair-mindedness) is a principle of justice
In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the mo ...
and
recusal
Recusal is the legal process by which a judge, juror, or other adjudicator steps aside from participating in a case due to potential bias, conflict of interest, or appearance of impropriety. This practice is fundamental to ensuring fairness and ...
of
judge
A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...
s. It is famous as a legal precedent in establishing the principle that the mere appearance of bias is sufficient to overturn a judicial decision. It also brought into common parlance the oft-quoted aphorism "Not only must Justice be done; it must ''also be seen to be done.''"
Facts
In 1923 McCarthy, a motorcyclist, was involved in a
road accident
A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. Tr ...
which resulted in his
prosecution
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...
before a
magistrates' court
A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several Jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings.
Courts
* Magistrates' court (England and Wales) ...
for
dangerous driving
In United Kingdom law, dangerous driving is a statutory offence related to aggressive driving. It is also a term of art used in the definition of the offence of causing death by dangerous driving. It replaces the former offence of reckless driv ...
. Unknown to the
defendant
In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case.
Terminology varies from one juris ...
and his
solicitor
A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...
, the
clerk
A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...
to the
justices
''Justice'' (abbreviation: ame ''J.'' and other variations) is an honorific style and title traditionally used to describe a jurist who is currently serving or has served on a supreme court or some equal position. In some countries, a justice ma ...
was a member of the firm of solicitors acting in a civil claim against the defendant arising out of the accident that had given rise to the prosecution. The clerk retired with the justices, who returned to convict the defendant.
On learning of the clerk's provenance, the defendant applied to have the conviction quashed. The justices swore affidavits stating that they had reached their decision to convict the defendant without consulting their clerk.
Judgment
The
appeal
In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...
was essentially one of
judicial review
Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...
and was heard at the
King's Bench division by
Lord Chief Justice
The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales.
Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English a ...
Hewart. In a landmark and far-reaching judgement, Lord Hewart CJ said:
The ruling is derived from the principle of
natural justice
In English law, natural justice is technical terminology for the rule against bias (''nemo iudex in causa sua'') and the right to a fair hearing (''audi alteram partem''). While the term ''natural justice'' is often retained as a general conc ...
and has been followed throughout the world in countries that use the
English legal system
English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. The judiciary is independent, and legal principles like fairness, equality befor ...
. It was applied in the
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...
case, where the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
overturned its own decision on the grounds of
Lord Hoffman's conflict of interest.
It has also been applied in a wide array of diverse situations, including immigration cases, professional disciplinary cases, and domestic tribunals, such as within members' clubs.
See also
*''
R v Bow Street Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate Ex parte Pinochet Ugarte (No.2)''
References
External links
text of the judgement at Bailii*
'
"Knowledge of the World and the Act of Judging" Robin Jacob
Sir Robert Raphael Hayim Jacob, PC (born 26 April 1941), known as Robin Jacob, is a former judge in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales.
Personal life
Jacob's father was Sir Jack Jacob, a Senior Master of the High Court who is well- ...
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1924 in case law
1924 in British law
High Court of Justice cases
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Conflict of interest mitigation