Jacqueline Davies Explained

Jacqueline Davies
Birth Date:21 May 1948
Nationality:British
Spouse:Paul Clark (?ndash;2008; his death)
Occupation:Circuit judge

Jacqueline Davies (21 May 1948 – 18 April 2019)[1] [2] is a Circuit Judge, working in the North Eastern region of the UK. She was appointed on 29 June 1993.[3]

Notable Decisions

Twitter Joke Trial

On 11 November 2010 Judge Jacqueline Davies, sitting with two magistrates, refused an appeal against the verdict of the "Twitter Joke Trial", from Paul Chambers who had posted a message on Twitter saying:[4]

Chambers was appealing his conviction for "sending a public electronic message that was grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character contrary to the Communications Act 2003"[5] at Doncaster magistrates court[6]

When Judge Davies heard the appeal in Doncaster Crown Court she judged that the tweet was "obviously menacing"[7] and that Chambers must have known that it might be taken seriously.[8] She upheld the £1000 fine, and ordered that he pay an extra £2000 in legal costs.[9]

Many members of Twitter registered their disapproval of the judgement, and Stephen Fry offered to pay the defendant's legal bill.[9]

Judge Davies' decision was reversed on appeal in the High Court by decision dated 27 July 2012. The 13 page judgment by Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge, stated:[10] [11]

Personal life

Judge Davies was married to Judge Paul Clark who died on 7 October 2008 [12]

In 2009 Judge Davies took part in a charity walk across the Sinai Desert in memory of her husband and to raise money for Prostate UK and Wellbeing of Women.[13]

Notes and References

  1. News: Birthdays. The Guardian. 43. 21 May 2014.
  2. News: RYCHLIKOVA . Megi . Five-court live tv link-up to honour trail-blazing judge . York Press . 27 April 2019 . en.
  3. Web site: List of members of the judiciary - Circuit Judges. Judiciary.gov.uk. 2010-03-05. 12 November 2010.
  4. News: My tweet was silly, but the police reaction was absurd . Chambers. Paul. Guardian. 17 September 2010 . London . 11 May 2010.
  5. Web site: Communications Act 2003 . Legislation.gov.uk . 2016-12-18.
  6. News: Wrong kind of tweet leaves air traveller £1,000 out of pocket . Wainwright. Martin. Guardian. 17 September 2010. London. 10 May 2010.
  7. Web site: Twitter joke martyr loses appeal. Theregister.co.uk. 2010-11-11. 12 November 2010.
  8. News: Twitter joke trial: Paul Chambers loses appeal against conviction. 2010-11-11. 12 November 2010. London. The Guardian. Martin. Wainwright.
  9. News: #IAmSpartacus campaign explodes on Twitter in support of airport joker . London . The Guardian . Haroon . Siddique . 12 November 2010.
  10. Web site: Approved Judgment. 2012-07-27. Judiciary.gov.uk. 2016-12-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20121209023447/http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Documents/Judgments/chambers-v-dpp.pdf. 9 December 2012. dead.
  11. Web site: Chambers v Director of Public Prosecutions [2012] EWHC 2157 (QB) (27 July 2012). BAILII. 2012-07-27. 2012-07-27.
  12. Web site: Paul Clark (From Oxford Mail) . Oxfordmail.co.uk . 2008-10-15 . 2016-12-18.
  13. Web site: The Barrister Blog: Judge completes trek across Sinai Desert . Timkevan.blogspot.com . 2009-03-24 . 2016-12-18.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Jacqueline Davies".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.