New Top Man

There has been a new Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales since the 1st of January. Lord Justice Leveson, formerly Brian Leveson QC, is a highly experienced barrister who prosecuted Rose West at Winchester Crown Court and went on to become a High Court judge, spending quite a lot of time in the North of England. The Lord Chief Justice has delegated the legal overview of the magistrates' courts to Leveson LJ, so we shall see what changes he has in mind once he has settled in. He is fiercely defensive of judicial independence, and highly scornful of those who accuse judges of being out of touch. "I go to Tesco's" he says, "and I have teenage children who keep my feet on the ground. I don't live on a rough estate, but otherwise I lead a normal life".