Michael Davies (judge)

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Sir Alfred William Michael Davies (29 July 1921 – 5 September 2006) was a British barrister who served as a High Court Judge from 1973 to 1991. He was one of the first judges appointed specifically to hear defamation cases, one of the few areas of civil law in England in which a jury remains the tribunal of fact, and was in charge of managing the list of libel cases from 1988 to 1991.

In retirement, he conducted a visitor's inquiry into allegations of poor academic standards at

University College, Swansea in 1992 to 1993, and was instrumental in the foundation of the Expert Witness Institute in 1996.[1][2]

Early and private life

Davies was born in

Birmingham University.[1]

Legal career

Davies was

QC in 1964.[1]

He led the prosecution of Buster Edwards in 1966 for his part in the Great Train Robbery three years earlier, and of William Waite, the "gentle poisoner" who had killed his wife.[citation needed]

He was the Leader of the Midland Circuit and a member of the

Midland and Oxford Circuit from 1971 to 1973.[citation needed
]

Judicial career

Davies had extensive experience as a judge in lower courts before he was appointed to the

Commissioner of Assize in Birmingham in 1970; and a Crown Court
judge from 1972 to 1973.

Davies became a judge of the

Queen's Bench Division. As the senior judge, he became Keeper of the Juries List in 1988, taking charge of the limited number of English civil cases — principally defamation cases — in which a judge continues to sit as arbiter of the law, with a jury as tribunal of fact. As a result, he sat on many high-profile cases, many of which were won by plaintiffs who were awarded ever large sums in damages. He was very active in managing the number and turnover of cases on the list, cutting the number of cases on the list from around 240 in 1988, when he was appointed, to only 50 cases two years later. The time before a case came to trial was also reduced from three years to only one.[citation needed
]

Davies was the judge in the case brought by

Yorkshire Ripper, against Private Eye, which alleged that she had sold her life story to the Daily Mail. She was initially awarded then-record damages of £600,000 (reduced to £60,000 on appeal). Ian Hislop, editor of Private Eye, said on the steps of the court after losing the case: "If that's justice, then I'm a banana."[4]

In 1990, he also presided over the libel case brought by

Viscount Linley, Ranulph Fiennes and Neil Kinnock.[citation needed
]

Retirement

Davies's shield of arms [5]

He retired in 1991, when he was Treasurer of Lincoln's Inn. He conducted a visitor's inquiry in 1992 to 1993 into the "Great Battle" at

University College, Swansea
, over allegations of poor academic standards in its MA in philosophy and health care. [1][2]

He was founding chairman of the Expert Witness Institute in 1996, and enjoyed reading, golf, theatre and opera, particularly the Welsh National Opera, and black and white films.

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-9711966-2-1
    .
  2. ^ Morton, James (9 October 2006). "Obituary: Sir Michael Davies". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  3. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007.
  4. ^ Sonia Sutcliffe prevails over Private Eye in court, bbc.co.uk. Accessed 26 December 2022.
  5. ^ "S4,5d davies M 1991". Baz Manning. 11 February 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
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