Michael Davies (judge)
Encyclopedia
Sir Alfred William Michael Davies (29 July 1921 - 5 September 2006) was a British
barrister
, and was a High Court judge
for 18 years, from 1973 to 1991. He was one of the first judges appointed specifically to hear defamation cases, one of the few areas of civil law
in England
in which a jury
remains the tribunal of fact, and was in charge of managing the list of libel cases from 1988 to 1991. In retirement, he conducted a visitor's inquiry into allegations of poor academic standards at University College, Swansea in 1992 to 1993, and was instrumental in the foundation of the Expert Witness Institute in 1996.
, the elder son of a small businessman who owned a glass factory. He was educated at King Edward's Grammar School in Birmingham
. He won a place at Trinity Hall, Cambridge
, but the Second World War intervened; in the end, he read law at Birmingham University. His younger brother, Gordon Davies, became a professor of history at Oxford University, Bristol University and University College Dublin
.
He married Margaret Jackson in 1947. They met in Germany at the end of the war, and had one son and three daughters together. She died in 2003.
Before concentrating on the law, he wrote three radio plays that were broadcast by the BBC
.
in 1948, where he became a bencher
in 1972 and was Treasurer in 1991. He practised on the Midland Circuit, and became a QC
in 1964. He led the prosecution of Buster Edwards
in 1966 for his part in the Great Train Robbery
three years earlier, and of William Waite, the "gentle poisoner" who had killed his wife. He was the Leader of the Midland Circuit and a member of the Bar Council
from 1968 to 1971, and then Joint Leader of the Midland and Oxford Circuit from 1971 to 1973.
from 1962 to 1971; Recorder
of Grantham
from 1963 to 1965 and of Derby
from 1965 to 1971; Chancellor of the Diocese of Derby
from 1971 to 1973; a Commissioner of Assize in Birmingham in 1970; and a Crown Court
judge from 1972 to 1973.
Davies became a judge of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice
in 1973, receiving the customary knighthood
. As the senior High Court judge, he became Keeper of the Juries List in 1988, taking charge of the limited number of English civil cases - principally defamation cases - in which a judge continues to sit as arbiter of the law, with a jury as tribunal of fact. As a result, he sat on many high-profile cases, many of which were won by plaintiffs who were awarded ever large sums in damages. He was very active in managing the number and turnover of cases on the list, cutting the number of cases on the list from around 240 in 1988, when he was appointed, to only 50 cases two years later. The time before a case came to trial was also reduced from three years to only one.
Davies was the judge in the case brought by Koo Stark
in 1988, against newspapers that had claimed she had an adulterous
affair with The Duke of York
. He was also the judge in a successful libel case brought in 1990 by Sonia Sutcliffe, wife of the Yorkshire Ripper, against Private Eye
, which alleged that she had sold her life story to the Daily Mail
. She was initially awarded then-record damages of £600,000 (reduced to £60,000 on appeal). Ian Hislop
, editor of Private Eye, said on the steps of the court after losing the case: "If that's justice, then I'm a banana."http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/24/newsid_2503000/2503595.stm
In 1990, he also presided over the libel case brought by Lord Aldington
against Count Nikolai Tolstoy
, in relation to allegations of bad faith in returning Cossack
s to Joseph Stalin
's Soviet Union
and Slavs
to Marshal Josip Broz Tito
's Yugoslavia
in 1945, at the end of the Second World War, which set a new record for libel damages of £1.5 million. He also sat on the libel case brought by Andrew Neil
against Peregrine Worsthorne
, in relation to a leading article in The Sunday Telegraph implying that Neil knew that Pamela Bordes was a call-girl before their affair in 1988, and in other cases involving celebrities such as Elton John
, Tessa Sanderson
, Linford Christie
, Viscount Linley
, Sir Ranulph Fiennes
and Neil Kinnock
.
As a judge, he could be charming and witty, and won praise for his clear explanations to the jury. He could also be grumpy and irascible, particularly when taking to task visitors his court who appeared in the public gallery for only a few minutes, as if his court was a public entertainment. His obituaries imply that he played to the jury, and tried to be the centre of attention, ticking off barristers who he thought were taking too much of his limelight. He was lampooned in Private Eye
as "Mr Justice Cocklecarrot".
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/311/7012/1100http://www.freedomtocare.org/page74.htm
He was founding chairman of the Expert Witness Institute in 1996, and enjoyed reading, golf, theatre and opera, particularly the Welsh National Opera
, and black and white films. He was a member of the Garrick Club
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
, and was a High Court judge
High Court judge
A High Court judge is a judge of the High Court of Justice, and represents the third highest level of judge in the courts of England and Wales. High Court judges are referred to as puisne judges...
for 18 years, from 1973 to 1991. He was one of the first judges appointed specifically to hear defamation cases, one of the few areas of civil law
Civil law (common law)
Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in which a jury
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
remains the tribunal of fact, and was in charge of managing the list of libel cases from 1988 to 1991. In retirement, he conducted a visitor's inquiry into allegations of poor academic standards at University College, Swansea in 1992 to 1993, and was instrumental in the foundation of the Expert Witness Institute in 1996.
Early and private life
Davies was born in StourbridgeStourbridge
Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...
, the elder son of a small businessman who owned a glass factory. He was educated at King Edward's Grammar School in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. He won a place at Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.- Foundation :...
, but the Second World War intervened; in the end, he read law at Birmingham University. His younger brother, Gordon Davies, became a professor of history at Oxford University, Bristol University and University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
.
He married Margaret Jackson in 1947. They met in Germany at the end of the war, and had one son and three daughters together. She died in 2003.
Before concentrating on the law, he wrote three radio plays that were broadcast by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.
Legal career
Davies was called to the bar at Lincoln's InnLincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
in 1948, where he became a bencher
Bencher
A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can be elected while still a barrister , in recognition of the contribution that the barrister has made to the life of the Inn or to the law...
in 1972 and was Treasurer in 1991. He practised on the Midland Circuit, and became a QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
in 1964. He led the prosecution of Buster Edwards
Buster Edwards
Buster Edwards was a British criminal who was a member of the gang that committed the Great Train Robbery. He had also been a boxer and nightclub owner.-Early and private life:...
in 1966 for his part in the Great Train Robbery
Great Train Robbery (1963)
The Great Train Robbery is the name given to a £2.6 million train robbery committed on 8 August 1963 at Bridego Railway Bridge, Ledburn near Mentmore in Buckinghamshire, England. The bulk of the stolen money was not recovered...
three years earlier, and of William Waite, the "gentle poisoner" who had killed his wife. He was the Leader of the Midland Circuit and a member of the Bar Council
Bar council
A bar council , in a Commonwealth country and in the Republic of Ireland, the Bar Council of Ireland is a professional body that regulates the profession of barristers together with the King's Inns. Solicitors are generally regulated by the Law society....
from 1968 to 1971, and then Joint Leader of the Midland and Oxford Circuit from 1971 to 1973.
Judicial career
Davies had extensive experience as a judge in lower courts before he was appointed to the High Court. He was deputy chairman of Northamptonshire Quarter SessionsQuarter Sessions
The Courts of Quarter Sessions or Quarter Sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the United Kingdom and other countries in the former British Empire...
from 1962 to 1971; Recorder
Recorder (judge)
A Recorder is a judicial officer in England and Wales. It now refers to two quite different appointments. The ancient Recorderships of England and Wales now form part of a system of Honorary Recorderships which are filled by the most senior full-time circuit judges...
of Grantham
Grantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
from 1963 to 1965 and of Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
from 1965 to 1971; Chancellor of the Diocese of Derby
Diocese of Derby
The Diocese of Derby is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, roughly covering the same area as the County of Derbyshire. Its diocesan bishop is the Bishop of Derby who has his seat at Derby Cathedral. He is assisted by the Suffragan Bishop of Repton.The Diocese of Derby...
from 1971 to 1973; a Commissioner of Assize in Birmingham in 1970; and a Crown Court
Crown Court
The Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
judge from 1972 to 1973.
Davies became a judge of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
in 1973, receiving the customary knighthood
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
. As the senior High Court judge, he became Keeper of the Juries List in 1988, taking charge of the limited number of English civil cases - principally defamation cases - in which a judge continues to sit as arbiter of the law, with a jury as tribunal of fact. As a result, he sat on many high-profile cases, many of which were won by plaintiffs who were awarded ever large sums in damages. He was very active in managing the number and turnover of cases on the list, cutting the number of cases on the list from around 240 in 1988, when he was appointed, to only 50 cases two years later. The time before a case came to trial was also reduced from three years to only one.
Davies was the judge in the case brought by Koo Stark
Koo Stark
Kathleen Dee-Anne Stark, better known as Koo Stark , is an American film actress and photographer. She is known for her appearance in the film Emily and subsequent relationship with Prince Andrew, son of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, before his marriage to Sarah, Duchess of York.-...
in 1988, against newspapers that had claimed she had an adulterous
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
affair with The Duke of York
Prince Andrew, Duke of York
Prince Andrew, Duke of York KG GCVO , is the second son, and third child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
. He was also the judge in a successful libel case brought in 1990 by Sonia Sutcliffe, wife of the Yorkshire Ripper, against Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
, which alleged that she had sold her life story to the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
. She was initially awarded then-record damages of £600,000 (reduced to £60,000 on appeal). Ian Hislop
Ian Hislop
Ian David Hislop is a British journalist, satirist, comedian, writer, broadcaster and editor of the satirical magazine Private Eye...
, editor of Private Eye, said on the steps of the court after losing the case: "If that's justice, then I'm a banana."http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/24/newsid_2503000/2503595.stm
In 1990, he also presided over the libel case brought by Lord Aldington
Toby Low, 1st Baron Aldington
Toby Austin Richard William Low, 1st Baron Aldington, KCMG, CBE, DSO, TD, DL, PC , was a British Conservative Party politician and businessman.-Life:...
against Count Nikolai Tolstoy
Nikolai Tolstoy
Count Nikolai Dmitrievich Tolstoy-Miloslavsky is an Anglo-Russian historian and author who writes under the name Nikolai Tolstoy. A member of the prominent Tolstoy family, he is of part Russian descent and is the stepson of the author Patrick O'Brian...
, in relation to allegations of bad faith in returning Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
s to Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and Slavs
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
to Marshal Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
's Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
in 1945, at the end of the Second World War, which set a new record for libel damages of £1.5 million. He also sat on the libel case brought by Andrew Neil
Andrew Neil
Andrew Ferguson Neil is a Scottish journalist and broadcaster.He currently works for the BBC, presenting the live political programmes The Daily Politics and This Week...
against Peregrine Worsthorne
Peregrine Worsthorne
Sir Peregrine Gerard Worsthorne is a British journalist, writer and broadcaster. He was educated at Stowe School, Peterhouse, Cambridge and Magdalen College, Oxford. Worsthorne spent the largest part of his career at the Telegraph newspaper titles, eventually becoming editor of The Sunday Telegraph...
, in relation to a leading article in The Sunday Telegraph implying that Neil knew that Pamela Bordes was a call-girl before their affair in 1988, and in other cases involving celebrities such as Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, Tessa Sanderson
Tessa Sanderson
Theresa Ione Sanderson CBE is a former British javelin thrower and heptathlete who competed in the javelin competition in every one of the six Olympics from 1976–1996 winning the Gold medal in 1984...
, Linford Christie
Linford Christie
Linford Cicero Christie OBE is a former sprinter from the United Kingdom. He is the only British man to have won gold medals in the 100 metres at all four major competitions open to British athletes: the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games...
, Viscount Linley
David Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley
-Ancestry:-External links:* * * *...
, Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Ranulph Fiennes
Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet, OBE , better known as Ranulph Fiennes, is a British adventurer and holder of several endurance records. He is also a prolific writer. Fiennes served in the British Army for eight years including a period on counter-insurgency service while...
and Neil Kinnock
Neil Kinnock
Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock is a Welsh politician belonging to the Labour Party. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995 and as Labour Leader and Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition from 1983 until 1992 - his leadership of the party during nearly nine years making him...
.
As a judge, he could be charming and witty, and won praise for his clear explanations to the jury. He could also be grumpy and irascible, particularly when taking to task visitors his court who appeared in the public gallery for only a few minutes, as if his court was a public entertainment. His obituaries imply that he played to the jury, and tried to be the centre of attention, ticking off barristers who he thought were taking too much of his limelight. He was lampooned in Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
as "Mr Justice Cocklecarrot".
Retirement
He retired in 1991, when he was Treasurer of Lincoln's Inn. He continued to sit as a judge occasionally until 1997. He conducted a visitor's inquiry in 1992 to 1993 into the "Great Battle" at University College, Swansea, over allegations of poor academic standards in its MA in philosophy and health care.http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/311/7012/1100http://www.freedomtocare.org/page74.htm
He was founding chairman of the Expert Witness Institute in 1996, and enjoyed reading, golf, theatre and opera, particularly the Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...
, and black and white films. He was a member of the Garrick Club
Garrick Club
The Garrick Club is a gentlemen's club in London.-History:The Garrick Club was founded at a meeting in the Committee Room at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on Wednesday 17 August 1831...
.