Sir Stephen Price Richards (born 8 December 1950) is a former

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Justice ...

Biography

Stephen Price Richards was born in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

on 8 December 1950. He was educated at

King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London and ...

and

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pr ...

( BA, MA). Having been called to the Bar at

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in 1975, Richards was Second Junior Counsel to the Director General of Fair Trading 1987–89 and Standing Counsel 1989–91. He was Junior Counsel to the Crown 1990–91, and First Junior Treasury Counsel 1992–97 (elected as a Bencher of

on taking up the latter appointment). The First Junior Treasury Counsel is known colloquially as the "Treasury Devil" and represents

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in the civil courts. Traditionally the First Junior Treasury Counsel is not appointed

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 or ...

but it is nonetheless one of the most prestigious of legal appointments and almost inevitably leads to appointment as a High Court Judge. In 1997, Richards was appointed a Judge of the High Court of Justice (Queen's Bench Division), having been appointed a Recorder of the

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some either way offences and appeals lied to it by the magistrates' courts. It is one of three Senior Courts of England and Wale ...

the previous year. He was automatically appointed

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 t ...

. From 2000 until 2003, he served as Presiding Judge for Wales. On 4 November 2005,

HM The Queen Majesty (abbreviated HM for His Majesty or Her Majesty, oral address Your Majesty; from the Latin ''maiestas'', meaning "greatness") is used as a manner of address by many monarchs, usually kings or queens. Where used, the style outranks th ...

approved his appointment as a

and a member of the Privy Council. Since becoming a

he has heard several high-profile appeals, including those on behalf of the late

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, and by Mr and Mrs Ian Gay. On 1 November 2012, he was appointed Deputy Head of Civil Justice and took up his post on 1 January 2013. Richards retired on 17 February 2016. In 2018, Richards took up the post of a Justice at the Astana International Financial Centre Court in

Astana, Kazakhstan Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...

Trial and acquittal

In June 2007, Richards was tried at the

City of Westminster Magistrates' Court The City of Westminster Magistrates' Court was a magistrates' court located at 70 Horseferry Road, in the City of Westminster, London. It was originally called Horseferry Road Magistrates' Court, after the road in which it was sited.Her Majesty' ...

on two charges of indecent exposure on trains in 2006. He said that it was a case of mistaken identity, and was acquitted on both charges.

References

Sources and further information

10 Downing Street's website – accessed Nov 2006

Judge cleared of rush-hour flashing
*

Frances Gibb Frances Gibb (born 1951) is a British journalist and the former legal editor of ''The Times''. She retired from the newspaper in February 2019, and continues to write and broadcast on the law, contributing to publications including ''The Times'', ...

'Judge and magistrates will hear flashing case', ''The Times'' 9 June 2007
*''Debrett's People of Today'' (12th edn, London, 1999), p. 1648 {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Stephen 1950 births People educated at King's College School, London Knights Bachelor Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Fellows of St John's College, Oxford Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Lords Justices of Appeal Queen's Bench Division judges 21st-century Welsh judges Living people 20th-century Welsh lawyers