IB April 2017

INTERVIEW
Yes. I knew the press were there and I thought it would perhaps
interest the Manchester Evening News but I did not expect phone
calls from family members in New Zealand, South Africa and
Australia telling me they had seen me on the news.
Although there has been a lot of negativity in the press, which I half
expected, on the whole the general reaction has been good. The
young woman, Megan, has since been on television to speak about
it. I was pleased that she said she didn’t feel she was criticised
because that was hugely important to me.
In the BBC interview she said that, because of her experiences, she
would not go through the trial process again. Do you think there is
a place for pre-recorded cross examination of victims of sexual
abuse?
Pre-recorded cross examination of children is being piloted in some
areas at the moment and, depending on how that goes, it may well
take off but it’s not without its difficulties. For example, in these
trials a lot of disclosure comes in quite late and things can change
on a pin head, so pre-recorded evidence causes difficulties in
dealing with that late disclosure.
If it is rolled out for children and that goes well then they may start
looking at it for adults too. Assuming all the disclosure issues are
addressed, and everything is there that would be there if the trial was
going ahead live, I have no difficulty in pre-recorded evidence.
Having said that, there are so many different aspects to these sexual
cases and the counter consideration, of course, is how we should
treat defendants and how to protect the falsely accused.
Are there any further comments that you wish to make about this
issue or do you feel that your remarks said it all?
I could go on for years about this but, for now, yes it said it all. It
sounds terribly trite but the object of it all was to make people think
a little bit, which I hope it has.
Manchester FLBA
The retirement of two popular judges, HHJ Raynor QC and HHJ Kushner
QC, was marked with an event at Manchester Civil Justice Centre on 6
April. Philip Raynor QC was a leading ancillary relief practitioner, who
initially sat on family and civil cases after his appointment to the Circuit
Bench; in later years he also sat on administrative matters in the
Divisional Court.
Lindsey Kushner QC specialised in all areas of family law at the Bar, with
a strong emphasis on complex family cases involving the welfare of
children. As a Circuit Judge she sat on crime and family cases.
Both judges will be missed by those who had the pleasure of appearing
before them. Each combined a keen intellect with a very “down to Earth”
and approachable style. HHJ Kushner QC would do all that she could to
ease the stress upon vulnerable parents in family cases on some
occasions leaving the bench to sit beside an anxious party to
proceedings, and then talking to them to assist the process of their giving
the best evidence they were able to. Always warm and good humoured,
her direct and sensible approach endeared her to professionals and
public alike.
In other news, members travelled to Dublin for the Four Jurisdictions
conference, where continuing education was interspersed with fine
dining and Irish dancing.
Child Concern, which brings together professionals working in family
law, has continued to provide training events on a regular basis,
including a day seminar on Recent Innovations in Family Justice and
Protection, at which the President of the Family Division, Sir James
Munby was the key note speaker. Please note that the Child Concern
Ball will take place at the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel on 17 June 2017
and tickets are now on sale.
Samantha Birtles
18 St John Street
Looking back at the end of your career, what advice would you give
to someone starting their career at the Bar today?
If you need to do it, go for it. Being part of the Bar, and I still
consider myself a barrister, is something that, unless you are a
barrister, you will never be able to understand. It’s magic.
I regret that, through various governmental moves, the Bar has been
weakened - if not semi-destroyed - and I regret that there is a sharp
division between the publicly funded and the privately-paying work,
which has robbed us of quite a few people. It shouldn’t have to be
a vocation to do publicly funded work but it is.
What, if anything, will you miss about life on the bench?
The people: the lawyers are great, the staff here are fantastic and the
Judges I work alongside are people with whom I’ve enjoyed
professional and personal life with for decades. That’s very precious
and it’s been a tremendous ride.
HHJ Kushner QC and HHJ Raynor QC
Photo by Howard Barlow (www.howardbarlow.com)
What next?
Cooking, gardening and I’m going to learn new life skills. I’m
already good at clearing the drains but I would like to learn some
carpentry, plumbing and how to make an appointment at the
doctors!
Photo by Howard Barlow (www.howardbarlow.com)
In Brief 7