Nigel Richardson
Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
Deputy District Judge
Assumed office
March 2009
Personal details
Born
Nigel John Richardson[1]

February 1958
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Oxford MA, London Guildhall University[2]
Known forRepresenting victims of human rights abuses
Websitewww.hja.net

Nigel John Richardson[1] (born February 1958) is a British human rights lawyer who serves as a deputy district judge.[3] He was appointed to that office in May 2009. As a lawyer, Richardson is known for representing victims of human rights abuses in high-profile criminal cases with international element.[4]

Richardson was educated at University of Oxford and London Guildhall University.[5] He was admitted as a solicitor in 1972.[6] He became a trainee solicitor at Hodge Jones & Allen which specialises in human rights in 1985 and a senior partner in the firm in 1994.[5] In 2009 Richardson was appointed Deputy District Judge sitting in the Magistrates court.[3]

Human rights

Rights
Theoretical distinctions
Human rights
Rights by beneficiary
Other groups of rights

Gay rights

In 2012 Richardson acted for Michael Peacock in a landmark obscenity trial which changed the law on obscene publications in this county[7] and was seen as a test of the Obscene Publications Act 1959.[8] Peacock, a male escort, was charged with six counts of distributing obscene DVDs under the Obscene Publications Act 1959.[9] He was found not guilty by a jury at Southwark Crown Court.[10]

Pornography

In 2012, Richardson, together with his colleague Myles Jackman, successfully defended Simon Walsh, barrister and Greater London Assembly member who was accused of possession of extreme pornography under Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. The case came as a test to the Act.[11]

Racism

In 2016 Richardson represented Coronation Street actor Marc Anwar[12] who became the centre of a racism row after posting a controversial comment about Indians on Twitter, which resulted in his sacking from the ITV soap.[13]

Joe Orton's retrial

As a judge, Richardson presided over Joe Orton's retrial in 2012.[14] Orton was an English writer who in 1962 was sentenced to six months imprisonment for historic sexual offences and fined for stealing and damaging Islington Public Library books.[15] Prosecution insisted on retrial fifty years after he served his conviction.[16] The case made national headlines with newspapers arguing as to whether it was right to put Orton on trial. Orton later suggested that the lengthy sentence was given because he was a "queer."

Academic career and publications

Richardson was a visiting criminal law lecturer of Oxford Institute of Legal Practice from 2001, until its closure in 2013.[17] In 2014, together with Peter Clark, barrister at 187 Fleet Street Chambers[18] who specialises in sex cases, he co-authored a book called Sexual Offences – A Practitioner’s Guide.[19][20] Richardson also co-authored Blackstones Guide to the Human Rights Act 2000.[2]

Charity

Richardson is a trustee of English Collective of Prostitutes, a charity which aims to transform the lives of sex workers by campaigning against decriminalisation of prostitution and provides information, help, and support to individual sex workers and others who are concerned with sex workers' human, civil, legal, and economic rights.[21]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "The Law Society: Members". The Law Society. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  2. 1 2 "legal 500: Nigel Richardson". 22 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  3. 1 2 "TheLawyer: The bar/bench appointments". 22 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  4. ↑ "A liberal and progressive parliamentary report on sex workers is heartening, says Nigel Richardson, but the criminal law needs to be clear and consistently enforced". The Law Society. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  5. 1 2 "HJA: Nigel Richardson". HJA. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  6. ↑ "Chambers and Partners: Nigel Richardson". Chambers & Partnersr. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  7. ↑ "R v Peacock: Landmark Trial Rede nes Obscenity Law" (PDF). 22 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  8. ↑ Hodgson, Nichi (6 January 2012). "Michael Peacock's acquittal is a victory for sexual freedom". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  9. ↑ "Not guilty verdict in DVD obscenity trial". 22 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  10. ↑ "Obscene publication acquittal prompts guidance review". 22 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  11. ↑ "Simon Walsh: How bodged arrest and 'profoundly damaging' false charges have ruined my City Hall career". 22 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  12. ↑ "Marc Anwar sacked from Coronation Street over 'racially offensive tweets'". 11 November 2017. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  13. ↑ "Coronation Street star Marc Anwar SACKED from soap after astonishing racist Twitter attack". 11 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  14. ↑ "Camden Journal: Orton and Halliwell back in the dock". 22 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  15. ↑ "Joe Orton retrial". 22 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  16. ↑ "Simulated retrial sees playwright Joe Orton escape jail". 22 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  17. ↑ "Student Pro Bono: About Us". 22 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  18. ↑ "Book Review: Sexual Offences- a Practitioners Guide (Richardson/Clark)". 22 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  19. ↑ "Richardson and Clark: Sexual Offences A Practitioner's Guide". 22 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  20. ↑ "Sexual Offences A Practitioner's Guide by Richardson and Clark". 22 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  21. ↑ Bowcott, Owen (16 January 2012). "Call for change in law to protect prostitutes from violent crime". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
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