Child Rape Trial Halted As Judge Fell Asleep

This is beyond belief - of course he will keep his job - the Old Boy Network will swing into operation.

Beyond dreadful, and having been involved in the difficult task of video interviewing children in similar case, it's beyond belief that anyone could nod off as a child tells his or her story in such difficult circumstances.

It will certainly be interesting to see what happens to this judge.

How dreadful for the poor child having to wait for a retrial and then relive the ordeal again.

If there's no medical reason for the judge to have nodded off, then he should not continue in the job.

It will be interesting to see a) What excuses will be put forward and b) how he will be 'disciplined' if found guilty. If. . . !

I agree MiniMouse. Horrendous for this poor child to have to relive it, and to maybe think that the judge was sufficiently uninterested in what he/she had to say that he fell asleep.
He is not fit to be a judge.

My thoughts too MiniMouse and rosequartz - very sad indeed, that poor child.

I'm surprised at the lack of response/interest on this thread given the other recent threads regarding child sex abuse but I'm glad there are five of us that find what happened shocking to say the least.

Holly - I don't think there's much to add to what has been said - that's why I hadn't posted. Yes it is dreadful most of all for the victim(s) with having to go through it all again and to having to wait again. I found it odd that he fell asleep ( allegedly I suppose I should add) during cross examination as you think he would be most engaged then, partly because of his duty to make sure the barrister stayed within acceptable limits. It will now be interesting to see what happens to hom and what, if any, his defence is.

Could it be the very hot weather? Stuffy courtroom? Lack of sleep for medical reason or old age? Conditions in the court need looking into, and of course, the reasons the judge may have said in his own defence?Several glasses of wine at lunch?!
It is awful that it will all have to be redone [especially for the child victims] and yes, if at fault, he certainly should bear the cost of the re-trial.

How horrendous for the poor child - to have to face questioning once was bad enough but will now have to go through it all again.

Even if there was a medical reason for his possibly falling asleep, surely he should have raised this before the trial started and stood down until the medical problem had been sorted out.

It is completely unacceptable, and I feel for the child. I hope the judge is disciplined and is made liable for some of the cost. If his 'sleepiness' was a medical condition, then he should not have been working.

The lack of response to this thread was questioned. I'm sure it has been read by many. Your bringing it to the attention of this forum was good enough.

I agree, there is no excuse. If he had a medical problem or was on medication which could cause drowsiness, he should not have been presiding. He's only 65, so not exactly 'old'.

I'm still feeling very cross about this. Almost all the Manchester courts I've been in have (ferocious) air conditioning. Those that don't, have fans, so I just can't see the current warm weather as causing this Judge to fall asleep. The tension in court rooms as x exam of a child witness begins is palpable. Unless this Judge is/was suffering significant ill health at the time of this trial, he's gotta go hasn't he. Even if he did have health problems, he has some responsibility for ensuring he's fit enough to work. Stopping a trial mid way is awful, but not as awful as having a Judge fall asleep. I wonder who will explain this to the young witness, how anyone can explain this in a way that doesn't compound the alleged abuse. I will stop there, in danger of a full on rant

I also think it is time to change the rules (whatever they are) regarding the judiciary and if someone is inept and/or passing overly lenient or overly harsh sentencing (on a regular basis), they should be replaced with the same ease as the rest of the working population.

You know what, I agree with you all the way HOLLY.

Or just TOO OLD. Experience is one thing, but being unable to stay awake when doing an important job like this must mean he is in his dotage and should be retired.

As I mentioned above, rosequartz, the judge in question is only 65 - not exactly in his dotage!

Oh, missed that.

Presumably he was aware that he was feeling very tired and unable to concentrate. I imagine it was within his authority to say that he felt unwell and adjourn for the day. I'm sure that feeling very sleepy at work is something that could happen to anybody but with such a hugely important role he really should have dealt with it more responsibly.