Judge Rapped Over Falling Asleep During Evidence of Child Abuse Victim
=Causing Trial to Collapse
- Recorder Philip Cattan, 65, Cheshire, fell asleep during evidence of abuse
- Young victim had to tell her story for a second time after the trial collapsed
- Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice reprimand the judge for his actions
Daily Mail UK, 11 April 2015
Recorder Philip Cattan (pictured), 65, from Cheshire was seen to fall asleep during the rape trial of John Quigley at Manchester UK, Crown Court
A Judge who fell asleep while a child abuse victim gave evidence and caused the trial to collapse has been reprimanded by his bosses
The part-time judge, Recorder Philip Cattan, 65, from Cheshire was seen to fall asleep during the rape trial of John Quingley at Manchester Crown Court last summer.
A retrial had to be ordered and with the child having to give evidence for a second time, the Daily Mirror reported.
While the jury was out of the room, the judge was confronted with the claim that he had slept through part of the cross-examination of the witness, who was giving evidence via videolink because of her age.
The incident was witnessed by the family of the victim in the trial of John Quigley, which was expected to last five days
A judge was applauded by the public gallery as he jailed a former pub boss who molested two little girls for 14 years.
The girl giving evidence was the first of two young girls expected to testify that they were abused in offences spanning from 2006 to 2013.
The body that regulates the judiciary, the Judicial Conduct Investigations office has rapped the Manchester recorder over the incident.
The Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice were quoted as saying they found evidence of serious misconduct following complaints that Cattan gave the appearance of falling asleep.
The cost of the abandoned trial and the retrial is believed to have cost the taxpayer £10,000.($15,000)
The defendant, Quingley, 49, of Benchill Manchester was found guilty of child sex charges and jailed for 14 years.
Leading criminal barrister, Kama Melly, who specialises in child sex crime, told the Daily Mirror, when the trial was suspended, that it is always devastating for a victim to have a trial delayed so long while an investigation takes place.
‘This is no doubt a traumatic time for the family and this will only serve to make matters worse for them,’ she explained.
The Lord Chief Justice Thomas of Cwmgiedd (top) and the Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling were quoted as saying they found evidence of serious misconduct following complaints that Cattan fell asleep
Cattan’s role as recorder means he sits for up to thirty days a year as a judge and he has previously. He has overseen cases on gangland murders, the Oldham riots and major drugs cases.
Judge Gabriel Hutton, a former senior judge at Gloucester Crown Court, fell asleep during the trial of Lee Woodward, who was accused of raping a 17-year-old girl on a riverbank in Sharpness, Gloucestershire.
He was granted bail and a retrial was demanded where he was cleared.
Judge Hutton, now retired, was ordered to apologise for the incident.
Manchester Crown Court, where Cattan was seen to fall asleep during the the case of John Quigley