A High Court judge has narrowly avoided the sack after he declared his love in a handwritten letter to a junior official.
Mr Justice Marcus Smith asked the young woman to go on walks with him, he shared details of his personal life, and said he “wanted to know her feelings in return”.
When confronted over the letter, the judge insisted he had not tried to “take advantage of the young woman”, and “admired her intellect and enjoyed working with her”.
Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr and Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood have now issued the judge with a reprimand for serious misconduct, the most serious punishment before dismissal.
“By giving the letter to the young woman, he was clearly expressing his love for her and that he wanted to take things further”, said a Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) ruling.
“His actions were part of a course of escalating conduct towards a young woman, a junior member of staff who was in a very vulnerable position in relation to him.
“He had abused his position and crossed lines which should not be crossed. It was unsurprising that the complainant had been distressed. The impact on her was likely to be lasting.”
The JCIO also concluded that the judge “had shown little insight into why his actions were so wrong”.
“He had not acknowledged the romantic aspect of the letter, focusing instead on his own circumstances and feelings.”
The judge, who sits in the High Court and is president of the Competition Appeal Tribunal, was reported in May this year.
The misconduct ruling sets out that he “passed a handwritten letter to a young woman member of staff, referring to a number of personal matters and his feelings for her”.
“The contents of the letter caused the young woman to feel distressed, angry, let down and devalued”, the ruling went on. “The complaint was accompanied by a summary document in which the young woman described a series of prior events that she considered to be relevant, for example the judge confiding in her about his relationship with his judicial leadership and asking her to go for walks with him.
“The letter referred to his work, including the challenges of his role as President of the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), and aspects of his personal life. It also stated that he loved the young woman and wanted to know her feelings in return.
“On reading the letter, the young woman became very distressed. She reported the matter to the CAT management, stating that she did not want to work with the judge again or cross paths with him.”
In his response to the complaint, Mr Justice Marcus Smith admitted writing the letter and conceded it was “plainly inappropriate to do so and that it had caused her significant emotional distress”.He stated it had “not been his intention to pressure or take advantage of the young woman. He admired her intellect and enjoyed working with her.
“On reflection, he realised that he had been ignoring warning signs about his workload and health. He had come to realise that the letter was a poorly framed attempt to reach out to her for support and to discuss his problems with her. He gave an assurance that there would be no repeat of such behaviour.
“He would be taking immediate steps to address the underlying issues which he believed had led him to act as he did.”
