Robin Spencer

Sir Robin Spencer (born 8 July 1955), styled The Hon. Mr Justice Spencer, is a judge of the High Court of England and Wales.

The Hon. Mr Justice Spencer
High Court Judge
Assumed office
2010
Personal details
Born (1955-07-08) 8 July 1955
Alma materEmmanuel College, Cambridge

He was educated at The King's School, Chester and Emmanuel College, Cambridge.[1]

He was called to the bar at Gray's Inn in 1978 and became a bencher there in 2005. He was made a QC in 1999, deputy judge of the High Court from 2001-2010, and judge of the High Court of Justice (Queen's Bench Division) since 2010.[2] In 2013 he was appointed as Presiding Judge on the South Eastern Circuit.

Sally Clark trial

In 1999 Spencer was leading Counsel for the prosecution in the trial of Sally Clark, a solicitor charged with the murder of her two babies. Clark was found guilty and sent to prison. She maintained her innocence and eventually her convictions were overturned at a second appeal and she was freed in 2003.[3]

Clark's husband, also a solicitor, made a complaint about the conduct of Spencer and his prosecution team. A Bar Council appointed QC prepared a charge sheet containing eight acts or omissions prejudicial to the administration of justice, but Mr Justice MacKinnon struck out the complaints.[4]

Jimmy Mubenga death in custody trial

In 2014 Spencer was the judge in the trial of three G4S security guards charged with the manslaughter of Angolan Jimmy Mubenga. Spencer ruled that abusive racist text messages found on the mobile phones of two of the guards had 'no real relevance' to the trial. The three were acquitted.[5][6]

References
  1. ‘SPENCER, Hon. Sir Robin (Godfrey)’, Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2014
  2. "No. 59491". The London Gazette. 19 July 2010. p. 13714.
  3. "Clark, R v [2003] EWCA Crim 1020 (11 April 2003)". bailii.org.
  4. Batt, John (2005). Stolen Innocence. Ebury Press. p. 476. ISBN 9780091905699.
  5. Robert Booth. "Jimmy Mubenga: Judge refused to allow jury to hear about guards' racist texts". the Guardian.
  6. "Open Letter to Mr Justice Spencer". Andrew Bradford.
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