Sir Robin Godfrey Spencer (born 8 July 1955), is a former judge of the High Court of England and Wales.

Biography

He was educated at

The King's School, Chester The King's School, Chester, is a co-educational private day school for pupils aged 4 to 18. It is one of the seven 'King's Schools' established (or re-endowed and renamed) by King Henry VIII in 1541 after the Dissolution of the Monasteries ...

and

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mo ...

. He was called to the bar at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1978 and became a bencher there in 2005. He was appointed a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1999, deputy judge of the High Court from 2001 to 2010, and judge of the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...

(Queen's Bench Division) since 2010. In 2013 he was appointed as Presiding Judge on the

South Eastern Circuit The Circuit Court () of Ireland is an intermediate level court of local and limited jurisdiction which hears both civil and criminal matters. On the criminal side the Circuit Court hears criminal matters tried on indictment with a judge and jury ...

. He retired from the High Court with effect from March 2023.

Sally Clark trial

In 1999 Spencer was leading Counsel for the prosecution in the trial of

Sally Clark Sally Clark (née Lockyer, 15 August 1964 – 15 March 2007) was an English solicitor who, in November 1999, became the victim of a miscarriage of justice when she was found guilty of the murder of her two infant sons. Clark's first son died in ...

, a solicitor charged with the murder of her two babies. Clark was found guilty and sent to prison. She maintained her innocence and eventually her convictions were overturned at a second appeal and she was freed in 2003. Clark's husband, also a solicitor, made a complaint about the conduct of Spencer and his prosecution team. A Bar Council appointed QC prepared a charge sheet containing eight acts or omissions prejudicial to the administration of justice, but Mr Justice McKinnon struck out the complaints.

Jimmy Mubenga death in custody trial

In 2014 Spencer was the judge in the trial of three G4S security guards charged with the manslaughter of Angolan Jimmy Mubenga. Spencer ruled that abusive racist text messages found on the mobile phones of two of the guards had 'no real relevance' to the trial. The three were acquitted.

Joanna Dennehy trial

In 2014, Spencer was the sentencing judge for the Peterborough ditch murders sentencing Joanna Dennehy to life imprisonment with a

Whole life order In England and Wales, life imprisonment is a sentence that lasts until the death of the prisoner, although in most cases the prisoner will be eligible for parole after a minimum term ("tariff") set by the judge. In exceptional cases a judge may ...

for the murders of 3 men in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Robin 1955 births Living people People educated at The King's School, Chester Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Members of Gray's Inn Queen's Bench Division judges Knights Bachelor Deputy lieutenants of Cheshire

Biography

Sally Clark trial

Jimmy Mubenga death in custody trial

Joanna Dennehy trial

See also

References