Alex Yip had published a letter to ex-justice secretary David Lammy regarding sentencing reform
The UK’s Judicial Conduct Investigations Office has issued a formal warning to UK magistrate and local councillor Alex Yip after Yip included a letter to former lord chancellor and justice secretary David Lammy in a social media post, reported the Law Society Gazette.
The letter to Lammy centered on Yip’s concerns about sentencing reform. A JCIO spokesperson said in a statement published by the Gazette that according to judicial conduct guidelines, magistrates were to refrain from publicly commenting on “the merits, meaning or likely effect of government policy.”
Yip had identified himself as a magistrate, although the post was issued from his councillor social media account.
“All magistrates, upon appointment, sign a declaration and undertaking that includes a commitment to conduct themselves with circumspection and to uphold the reputation and good standing of the magistracy,” the JCIO spokesperson said in a statement published by the Gazette. “The guide to judicial conduct states that magistrates who are involved in political activity should guard against any perception that their involvement is in their judicial capacity.”
The office acknowledged that Yip took responsibility for the post, was regretful, and apologized. He also quickly removed from the post references to his magistrate position.
Lord chancellor Alex Norris and High Court judge Michael Keehan, who was acting for lady chief justice Sue Carr, said issuing a formal warning for misconduct was a “reasonable and proportionate” sanction for Yip, per a statement published by the Gazette. Sanctions on judicial office-holders found to have engaged in misconduct are formal advice, formal warning, reprimand, and removal from office.
Yip is a magistrate on the Midlands and Solihull bench.
While in office, Lammy had presented a criminal justice system plan that included a “swift courts” judge-only court process in which a judge would sit alone on cases with a possible maximum sentence of three years, limiting jury trials. The jury trial rollback plan under the Courts and Tribunals Bill was met with significant pushback as UK criminal solicitors staged a protest.
Earlier this year, Keehan issued formal advice for misconduct against magistrate Clive Powell, a bench chair for Avon and Somerset, after Powell allegedly disrupted a judicial training session by criticizing the course content.
