Jeremy Johnson (judge)

Sir Jeremy Charles Johnson, known in court as Mr Justice Johnson (born 11 May 1971), is a British barrister and justice of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales.

Early life

Brought up in Sheffield, Yorkshire, Johnson was educated at Ampleforth College, then at the University of Oxford, where he learnt to fly and graduated BA in maths and philosophy, and finally at Middlesex University, where he gained a graduate diploma in law."The Hon Mr Justice Jeremy Johnson KC"
middletemple.org.uk, accessed 26 May 2024

Career

Johnson was called to the bar from the Middle Temple in 1994 and practised in general common law and public law from chambers at 5 Essex Court. Specializing in criminal cases and those involving government departments, he became a member of the Attorney General's Panels for the conduct of civil litigation on behalf of the British government.

In 2009, Johnson was appointed as a Recorder, and in 2011 he was promoted to Queen's Counsel. In 2016 he was authorised to act as a Judge of the High Court of Justice to hear cases in the Queen's Bench Division; in 2018 he was given authority to act also as a judge in the Administrative Court."Temporary Judicial Commissioners appointed"
ipco.org.uk, 21 April 2020, accessed 26 May 2024

In August 2019, with Jennifer Eady QC, Alison Foster QC, Frances Judd QC, Pushpinder Saini QC, and John Cavanagh QC, Johnson was announced as a new Justice of the High Court.Monidipa Fouzder,
"New High Court judges all Oxbridge barristers"
''Law Gazette'', 14 August 2019, accessed 26 May 2024 In October 2019 his appointment was confirmed as to the Queen's Bench Division, and on 14 November 2019 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

In April 2020, Johnson was appointed by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner, Sir Brian Leveson, as a temporary Judicial Commissioner under the Coronavirus Act 2020. In August 2023, he was appointed as a Commissioner until 2028.''The London Gazette'', Issue 64139, 9 August 2023,
p. 15970
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Notable cases

In 2007, with Robin Tam QC, Johnson represented MI6 and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office at the Inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

In March 2024, sitting in the High Court with Dame Victoria Sharp, Johnson found that Julian Assange had a real prospect of success with his appeal against extradition to the United States on three of the grounds he had argued, but they adjourned the leave to appeal application to give the US government three weeks to give assurances on the three matters.Haroon Siddique
"Julian Assange wins temporary reprieve in case against extradition to US"
'' The Guardian'', 26 March 2024, accessed 27 May 2024 On 20 May, not satisfied with the response from the US, they granted Assange leave to appeal.

In October 2024, sitting at Woolwich Crown Court, Judge Jeremy Johnson sentenced Stephen Yaxley-Lennon to 18 months imprisonment after Yaxley-Lennon pleaded guilty to two counts of Contempt of Court for repeating allegations against a Jamal Hijazi a Syrian immigrant. Stephen had been ordered in a previous court case not to repeat those allegations. Instead Mr. Yaxley-Lennon wrote a documentary called Silenced which contained overwhelming evidence that the allegations were true. There was a massive rally of British citizens in support of Mr. Yaxley-Lennon. Despite this, Judge Jeremy Johnson sentenced Stephen to 18 months in England's notorious Belmarsh prison where he will be locked up in solitary confinement. This is considered a form of torture. Judge Johnson said that he wished he could have sentenced Stephen to 2 years but because Stephen didn't contest the charges British law would not allow him to do so.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jeremy
1971 births
Alumni of the University of Oxford
Alumni of Middlesex University
Knights Bachelor
Living people
English King's Counsel
People educated at Ampleforth College
Queen's Bench Division judges
21st-century King's Counsel
21st-century English judges