A freedom of information request has revealed that there are 157 part-time judges sitting in the North Eastern Circuit, which encompasses court centres in Newcastle, Middlesbrough, York, Hull, Bradford, Leeds and Sheffield.
The list includes seven district judges and one immigration judge.
The Circuit has its own website (see here) and its current Leader is Richard Wright QC whom, some years ago, became one of the youngest ever to be appointed as a deputy (part-time) district judge.
The Courts and Tribunals Judicial Appointments Team based at the Royal Courts of Justice, responding to the information request on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, also confirmed that Recorders are appointed by Royal Warrant, following recommendation by the Lord Chancellor.
Once appointed, Recorders sit for four or five years, and their tenure is usually extended, automatically, by the Lord Chancellor for further successive terms up until their retirement date. Usually, their 70th birthday.
One of the youngest and one of the oldest Recorders were both involved in the same long running civil case about which much is written elsewhere on this website (see here). The appeal following the county court trial, heard at the High Court in Leeds, was upheld by one of the two Presiding Judges on the Circuit, Mr Justice Lavender (Mr Justice Goss is the other).
Ben Nolan QC is the longest serving Recorder on the circuit, having been appointed on 3rd March, 1989. He is due to retire next year.
The most recent additions were last month (October, 2020) when five Recorders were all newly appointed on the same day.
A Recorder receives a fee of £668.04 per sitting day (read full judicicial fee list here).
Page last updated: Thursday 26th November, 2020 at 065 hours
Photo credits: North Eastern Circuit logo
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