JCIO 57/25

   

A spokesperson for the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office said:

The Lady Chief Justice, with the Lord Chancellor’s agreement, has issued Mrs Evelyn McCann JP of the South-West London Bench with a reprimand for misconduct.

Facts

On appointment, magistrates sign an undertaking which includes a commitment to sit for at least 13 days (or 26 half-days) per year.

The summary process in the Judicial Conduct (Magistrates) Rules 2023 enables a regional conduct advisory committee to recommend a magistrate’s removal from office without further investigation where that magistrate has failed, without a reasonable excuse, to comply with the minimum sitting requirements.

The London Conduct Advisory Committee (LCAC) recommended that Mrs McCann be removed from office on the basis that she had not met the minimum sitting requirement in 2024/25, and had not engaged with her bench chair regarding the shortfall in her sittings. Mrs McCann had also not met the minimum sitting requirements in 2022/23 and 2023/24.

Mrs McCann’s representations

Mrs McCann explained that she had made a genuine mistake, believing she had met the minimum requirements for 2024/25, and apologised. She stated that work commitments and personal issues had affected her ability to sit. She expressed her commitment to her role and to improving her sittings.

Decision

The Lord Chancellor and the Lady Chief Justice accepted the finding of the LCAC that Mrs McCann had not met the minimum sitting requirement in 2024/25 and had also failed to meet the minimum sitting requirements in the two preceding years. After careful consideration of the mitigation offered by Mrs McCann, her previous unblemished service since 2007, and her improved sittings in the current year, the Lady Chief Justice and the Lord Chancellor declined to accept the LCAC’s recommendation of removal, and instead decided to issue Mrs McCann with a reprimand, the most serious sanction short of removal from office. 

Notes for Editors

Media queries in relation to the JCIO should be made in the first instance to the Judicial Press Office - telephone 020 7073 4852 or via email - press.enquiries@judiciary.gsi.gov.uk 

Sanctions for misconduct by judicial office-holders are set out in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. They are, in order of severity: formal advice, formal warning, reprimand and removal from office.

For more information about the Office, including details on how to make a complaint against a judicial office holder, you can visit the JCIO website at: Judicial Conduct Investigations website