Dame Linda Penelope Dobbs, DBE (born 3 January 1951) is a retired High Court judge in England and Wales, who served from 2004 to 2013. Dobbs was the first non-white person to be appointed to the senior judiciary of England and Wales.

Biography

Linda Penelope Dobbs was born in

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

, to Arthur Ernest Dobbs, and his wife, Loyda Dobbs (née Johnson). Loyda Johnson was a Creole from Sierra Leone and Arthur Dobbs was an English lawyer originally from

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, who went on to serve as a High Court judge in Sierra Leone.

Education

Dobbs was educated at

Moreton Hall School Moreton Hall is a private boarding and day school for girls aged 6 months to 18 and boys aged 6 months to 11, situated in North Shropshire four miles from the market town of Oswestry. Founded in 1913, Moreton Hall celebrated its centenary in 2 ...

, a boarding

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

for girls, near the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the England–Wales border, Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5 road (Great Britain), A5, A483 road, A483 and A495 road, A495 ro ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, followed initially by the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, where she read music but left after a year. She then attended the

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its Royal Charter, royal charter in 1966, along with a Plate glass university, number of other institutions following recommendations ...

, where she studied Russian and law, graduating in 1976. She went on to the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

, where she obtained a master's degree, followed by a doctorate in Soviet criminology and

penology Penology (also penal theory) is a Academic discipline, subfield of criminology that deals with the philosophy and practice of various societies in their attempts to repress crime, criminal activities, and satisfy public opinion via an appropriate ...

Life and career

Dobbs 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 ...

in 1981, practising from 5 King's Bench Walk, the chambers of the then

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Sir

Michael Havers Robert Michael Oldfield Havers, Baron Havers, (10 March 1923 – 1 April 1992), was a British barrister and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician. He was knighted in 1972 and appointed a life peer in 1987. Early life and military s ...

, QC. She had a mixed criminal practice, in later years specialising in fraud and professional disciplinary tribunals, including the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of physician, medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the pu ...

and the

General Dental Council The General Dental Council (GDC) is an organisation which regulates dental professionals in the United Kingdom. It keeps an up-to-date register of all qualified dentists and other dental care professionals such as: dental hygienists, dental ther ...

. She

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 1998. She was a member of the

General Council of the Bar The General Council of the Bar, commonly known as the Bar Council, is the representative body for barristers in England and Wales. Established in 1894, the Bar Council is the "approved regulator" of barristers, but delegates its regulatory functi ...

and chaired its Professional Standards Committee and Race Relations Committee. In 2003, she became the chairman of the Criminal

Bar Association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence.

. She was appointed as a deputy High Court judge in February 2003, without having previously held appointment as a

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...

. She was appointed as a judge of the High Court in 2004, 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 ...

without having sat as a deputy High Court judge. Of her appointment to the High Court, she said: "Whilst this appointment might be seen as casting me into the role of standard bearer, I am simply a practitioner following a career path. I am confident, nevertheless, that I am the first of many to come." Dobbs appeared in the 2008 "Black Britannia" exhibition in London by ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...

'' photographer John Ferguson, and was also included in published lists of Britain's 10 most powerful black women and ''

100 Great Black Britons ''100 Great Black Britons'' is a poll that was first undertaken in 2003 to vote for and celebrate the greatest Black Britons of all time. It was created in a campaign initiated by Patrick Vernon in response to a BBC search for ''100 Greatest Brito ...

''.100 Great Black Britons
website. She is a patron of the African Prisons Project and an initiator of the 18 Red Lion Court Award for African advocates. She is also patron of Masicorp, an NGO promoting education in

Masiphumelele Masiphumelele is a township on the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, situated between Kommetjie, Capri Village and Noordhoek. Initially known as Site 5, the township was renamed Masiphumelele by its residents, which is a Xhosa word meaning "let ...

, South Africa. On 20 April 2013, Dobbs took early retirement from the High Court, aged 62 years. She was later appointed as chair of an independent inquiry into Lloyds Banking Group's handling of the HBOS Reading branch fraud.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobbs, Linda 1951 births Living people Alumni of the University of Surrey Alumni of the London School of Economics British barristers People educated at Moreton Hall School Sierra Leonean knights Sierra Leonean emigrants to the United Kingdom Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Queen's Bench Division judges Sierra Leone Creole people People from Freetown British women lawyers Black British lawyers 21st-century Black British people 21st-century British lawyers Sierra Leonean expatriate judges Members of Gray's Inn 21st-century British women judges Lawyers awarded damehoods