Judge pickles daughter
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Obituary: Judge James Pickles
As if that was not daring enough, he called the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Lane, who heartily disapproved of him, "an ancient dinosaur living in the wrong age ".
The Lord Chancellor by now was Lord Mackay and, like his predecessor, he seemed set upon dismissing Judge Pickles.
However, he had to settle for a "serious rebuke" when the judge threatened a judicial review of any sterner sanction. In 1991, with his pension secure after 15 years on the bench, Judge Pickles retired, to the enormous relief of the legal establishment.
He continued to make waves though, advocating the decriminalisation of cannabis, writing a weekly newspaper column, and taking a role in a sparky Channel 5 programme, The People versus Jerry Sadowitz.
He also gave full rein to his views in two books, Straight from the Bench (1987) and Judge for Yourself (1992).
His claim to have been the man who scuppered the Kilmuir rules gagging judges may, like many of his assertions, have been overblown.
But it is true that post-Pickles, judges have enjoyed an acces
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James Pickles
English barrister and circuit judge
For the former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, see J. J. Pickle.
James Pickles (18 March 1925 – 18 December 2010)[1] was an English barrister and circuit judge and who later became a tabloid newspaper columnist. He became known for his controversial sentencing decisions and press statements.[2] His obituaries variously described him as forthright, colourful, and outspoken.[1][2][3][4]
Early life
Pickles was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire. His father, Arthur Pickles, was an architect and surveyor who became a property developer, and later a Liberal member of Halifax Town Council and ultimately Mayor of Halifax. His father's family were also involved in building and masonry: his great-grandfather worked on the construction of the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand in London. His uncle was the radio presenter Wilfred Pickles.[5]
James' sister, Christina Pickles, is an actress, most famous for her role as a nurse in the hospital dra
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James Pickles: Judge who caused controversy both in and out of the courtroom
James Pickles was the self-proclaimed "human face of the judiciary" and "the People's Judge" whose outspoken and colourful attacks on the British legal establishment made him a household name in the 1980s and 1990s. Never one to shy away from his own self-belief and judgement, Pickles regularly attracted controversy for his contentious sentencing policy and his outspoken criticism of senior legal figures, once describing one Lord Chief Justice, Lord Lane, as a "dinosaur living in the wrong age" and another, Lord Hailsham, as a "brooding Quixotic dictator" born with a golden spoon in his mouth and as "an arrogant, pompous, toffee-nosed Old Etonian".
No one was safe from his outrageous opinions; he described Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, as "a scrubber", while Freddie Mercury was a "greedy bisexual", and he called for the release of Moors murderer Myra Hindley. Pickles was known for his tendency, on the bench, towards sexual innuendo, once famously referring to the Spice Girls in his court by sayin
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