Sir John Douglas May, PC (28 June 1923 – 15 January 1997) was a British

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

judge appointed by the British Government to investigate the miscarriages of justice related to the

Maguire Seven The Guildford Four and Maguire Seven were two groups of people, mostly Northern Irish, who were wrongly convicted in English courts in 1975 and 1976 of the Guildford pub bombings of 5 October 1974 and the Woolwich pub bombing of 7 November 1974. ...

and other miscarriages linked to IRA bombing offences. May was educated at

Clifton College Clifton College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862 and offering both boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18. In its early years, unlike mo ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

, where he was a scholar. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served with the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roya ...

. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

by the

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in 1947 and

took silk A King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarch is a woman, the title is Qu ...

in 1965. He was appointed to the High Court and assigned to the

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

in 1972, receiving the customary

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

. In 1982, he was made a

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Just ...

and made a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

, serving until 1989.

Maguire Seven inquiry

On 20 October 1989 following the quashing of the

Guildford Four The Guildford Four and Maguire Seven were two groups of people, mostly Northern Irish, who were wrongly convicted in English courts in 1975 and 1976 of the Guildford pub bombings of 5 October 1974 and the Woolwich pub bombing of 7 November 1974 ...

convictions, May was appointed to chair an inquiry into both that case and the related case of the Maguire Seven. On 12 July 1990, the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

David Waddington David Charles Waddington, Baron Waddington, (2 August 1929 – 23 February 2017) was a British politician and barrister. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons from 1968 to 1974 ...

published the interim report, ''Interim Report on the Maguire Case: The Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the convictions arising out of the bomb attacks in Guildford and Woolwich in 1974''. The report criticised the trial judge Lord Donaldson of Lymington. It unearthed improprieties in the handling of scientific evidence that were relevant to the other cases and declared the convictions unsound and recommended referral back to the Court of Appeal. The scientific work in examining the failings of the original forensic work leading to the convictions was undertaken by the "West" Committee led by Professor Thomas Summers West CBE FRS and the findings published in 1992 in Sir John May's report to the House of Commons entitled the Second Maguire report.

RARDE scientific tests

The Inquiry found that RARDE scientists Walter Elliott and Douglas Higgs had lied and suppressed evidence at the trials of Judith Ward and the Maguire Seven. The terms of reference of the initial inquiry were expanded, as a result, to include *The preparation of court evidence by expert witnesses *The advance disclosure of scientific findings *The authorisation of prosecutions based on scientific evidence *Home Office assessment of scientific evidence after miscarriage claims

Royal Commission on Criminal Justice

On 14 March 1991, the inquiry became the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice covering the systemic problems uncovered earlier. The commission was chaired by Viscount Runciman of Doxford.

Judgments

*'' Wheeler v JJ Saunders Ltd''

994 Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish general Manjutakin (also the governor ...

EWCA Civ 32 - case on

nuisance Nuisance (from archaic ''nocence'', through Fr. ''noisance'', ''nuisance'', from Lat. ''nocere'', "to hurt") is a common law tort. It means something which causes offence, annoyance, trouble or injury. A nuisance can be either public (also "com ...

which amended the precedent set by '' Gillingham Borough Council v Medway (Chatham) Dock Co Ltd''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:May, John 20th-century English judges 1923 births 1997 deaths People educated at Clifton College Public inquiries in the United Kingdom Knights Bachelor Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Lord justices of appeal Queen's Bench Division judges Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Members of the Inner Temple