Council members
Right Honourable, The Lord Judge
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
Igor Judge is the president of the Sentencing Council. In his role he provides oversight to the Council and appoints judicial members.
He became Lord Chief Justice on 1 October 2008.
He was called to the Bar in 1963, became a Queen’s Counsel in 1979, appointed High Court Judge, Queen's Bench Division 1988, was appointed Lord Justice of Appeal and sworn in as a Privy Councillor, 1996, was Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales from1998 to 2003, appointed Deputy Chief Justice for England and Wales in 2003 and appointed President of the Queen's Bench Division in 2005.
The Right Honourable Lord Justice Leveson
Brian Leveson was appointed as chairman of the Sentencing Council by the Lord Chief Justice, with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor. He held the position of Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales for a three year term until December 2009.
He was called to the Bar by Middle Temple in 1970. He practised on the northern circuit from chambers in Liverpool, across the full range of common law work, crime, personal injury and commercial work. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1986, and was a Recorder and a Deputy High Court Judge. He was appointed a Judge of the High Court, Queen’s Bench Division, in 2000, and served as a Presiding Judge of the northern circuit. In 2005 he was appointed to the new position of Deputy Senior Presiding Judge, and in 2006 as a Lord Justice of Appeal. In July 2011, the Prime Minister asked him to chair the public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the press. Since this appointment, he has maintained his position as Chairman of the Council. He is an honorary fellow of Merton College, Oxford and has received an honorary LL.D. from the University of Liverpool.
District Judge (Magistrates' Court) Anne Arnold
Anne Arnold was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1981. She was appointed as a Stipendiary Magistrate, now District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts), for the East and West Sussex commission areas in 1999 based at Brighton Magistrates’ Court. Since 2006 she has been the Resident DJ (MC) at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court. She was appointed a Recorder assigned to the western circuit in 2005. She is a member of the Judicial Studies Board DJ (MC) Continuation Training Tutor Team and serves on the Legal Committee of the Council of Her Majesty’s DJs (MC). Prior to her appointment as a judge she was employed as Director of Legal Services for the Dorset Magistrates’ Courts.
Michael Caplan QC
Michael Caplan QC is a solicitor practising in the areas of domestic and international, criminal and regulatory law and is one of the few solicitors to have been appointed QC.
As well as having been a partner at Kingsley Napley for 30 years, he has been a part-time judge (Recorder) in the Crown Court for many years and is authorised to sit as a Deputy High Court Judge. Michael is also a chairman of the police disciplinary appeal tribunal, is on the Criminal Procedure Rule Committee chaired by the Lord Chief Justice and is a former chairman of the Solicitors Association of Higher Court Advocates. He has written and lectured on a number of topics.
John Crawforth OBE
John Crawforth was the chief officer for Greater Manchester probation area from March 2005 to January 2011, becoming the first chief executive of the Greater Manchester Probation Trust in April 2009. Prior to this he was chief officer for the Lancashire Probation Area from 1994. John began his probation career in Greater Manchester in 1974 as a probation officer, working in Bury, and then as a probation manager in inner-city Manchester and Salford. He is a graduate of Leeds, Nottingham and Cambridge Universities with an M.Phil in criminology.
His special interests include sentencing and the courts, promoting safer communities and working to develop successful rehabilitation programmes for offenders in prison and on release. John was formerly chair of the Lancashire Criminal Justice Board and has played a key role there and in Greater Manchester in improving public confidence in the criminal justice system. John was awarded an OBE in June 2008 for public and voluntary service.
His Honour William Davis QC
William Davis was called to the bar by Inner Temple in 1975. He practised in Birmingham between 1976 and 2008. He was head of St Philips Chambers from 2004 to 2008. He became a Recorder in 1995 and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1998. He was appointed as a Senior Circuit Judge and Resident Judge at Birmingham Crown Court and the Honorary Recorder of Birmingham in 2009. He was a member of the main board of the Judicial Studies Board from 2005 to 2007. He has been Course Director for Regional/Circuit Criminal Seminars since 2007.
The Honourable Mr Justice Globe
Henry Globe was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1972. He practised on the northern circuit between 1972 and 2003 and was joint head of chambers of Exchange Chambers from 2000 to 2003. He has been standing counsel to the then Department for Social Security and Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise. He became a Recorder in 1991 and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1994. He was appointed as a Senior Circuit Judge for crime and became Resident Judge at Liverpool Combined Court and the Honorary Recorder of Liverpool in October 2003. He has been a member of the Judicial Studies Board Criminal Committee and has been course director for the Judicial Studies Board for murder and manslaughter cases and for serious fraud cases. He has been a judicial member of the Criminal Justice Council. In October 2011 he became a High Court Judge.
The Right Honourable Lord Hughes of Ombersley
Anthony Hughes was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1970. His principal chambers were in Birmingham, practising a mix of common law, crime and family. He was a Crown Court Recorder from 1988 to 1997 and head of No.1 Fountain Court Chambers, Birmingham. He was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1990. From 1997 to 2003, he was a Judge of the High Court of Justice, Family Division. He served as Presiding Judge on the midland circuit from 2000 to 2003, and then transferred to the Queen's Bench Division. In 2000 he was appointed Presiding Judge of the midland Circuit and in 2006 was appointed Lord Justice of Appeal. In April 2013 he was appointed Justice of the Supreme Court.
Javed Khan
Javed is the Chief Executive of Victim Support which he joined from the Government Office for London where he was the Executive Director to the London Serious Youth Violence Board. In this role he worked with key London agencies and government departments focussing on improving how agencies share information and work together to reduce serious youth violence in the capital. He has a wealth of experience of working with local government and community leaders built up in roles at Birmingham City Council and the London Borough of Harrow. Covering areas such as safer and stronger communities, schools, libraries, adult learning, youth services and community cohesion, he was responsible for multi-million pound budgets and workforces of over 3,000 people. Javed began his career as a mathematics teacher and has also been an assistant principal in the further education sector.
Her Honour Judge Sarah Munro QC
Sarah Munro was called to the Bar by Inner Temple in 1984. She practised on the Western Circuit from chambers in Exeter, specialising from 1990 onwards in criminal work. She was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2002 and was a Crown Court Recorder authorised to act as a judge in both the trial and sentencing of serious sexual offence cases. While practising as a barrister, she conducted the prosecution and defence of all types of criminal cases, including homicide, serious fraud, serious sexual offences, and drug offences including importations. She also conducted prosecutions for HM Revenue and Customs. In 2011 she was appointed a Circuit Judge based at Portsmouth Crown Court.
Chief Constable Lynne Owens
Since February 2012, Lynne has been Chief Constable of Surrey Police, with overall accountability for performance, and responsibility for the Force's direction and leadership, stakeholder relations and political engagement.
In December 2010 she took up post as an Assistant Commissioner as part of the Metropolitan Police Service Management Board. She led on public order and event policing, including the delivery of the Royal Wedding in 2011, as well as other, predominantly uniformed Police Services. From August 2011 she was also responsible for the Specialist Crime Directorate.
She began her police career in the Metropolitan Police Service, posted to Catford in South East London.
She was awarded the Queens Police Medal for distinguished service in the New Years Honours (2008).
Katharine Rainsford JP
Katharine Rainsford has been a Magistrate since 1987 and was chair of the bench from 2004 to 2007. She currently sits on the West and Central Hertfordshire Bench. Katharine was also a course director for the Judicial College on courses for new training and development committee chairmen, and bench chairmen.
By profession Katharine is an internationally published historical novelist, writing under the name of Katharine McMahon. She has published eight books, including Season of Light, The Crimson Rooms and best-seller The Rose of Sebastopol which was shortlisted for the Best Read Award at the Galaxy British Book Awards. She is an advisory fellow with the Royal Literary Fund and teaches and mentors creative writers.
Professor Julian Roberts
Julian Roberts is a Professor of Criminology at the University of Oxford and a fellow of Worcester College. His research interests include sentencing, public opinion about crime and criminal justice, and victims and the criminal justice system. He holds a doctorate in experimental psychology and is currently the editor of the European Journal of Criminology. His books include Punishing Persistent Offenders; Public Opinion, Crime and Criminal Justice; and Hearing the Victim.
The Honourable Mr Justice Saunders
Mr Justice Saunders was called to the Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1972, and was appointed as a Queen’s Counsel in 1991. He was appointed as a Recorder in 1990, and became a Senior Circuit Judge and the Recorder of Birmingham in 2004. In 2007 he was appointed as a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division. He was Presiding Judge on the South Eastern Circuit from 2009 – 2012.
Keir Starmer QC
Keir Starmer is the Director of Public Prosecutions and head of the Crown Prosecution Service. He was called to the Bar in 1987 and appointed Queen's Counsel in 2002, specialising in human rights, international and criminal law. He has conducted cases before the House of Lords, the European Court of Human Rights, the Inter American Court of Human Rights and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. Keir was appointed an adviser to the Northern Ireland Policing Board in 2003, and was joint head of Doughty Street Chambers before being appointed as the Director of Public Prosecutions in November 2008.
The Right Honourable Lord Justice Treacy
Colman Treacy was called to the Bar by Middle Temple in 1971. He practised from chambers in Birmingham and was head of chambers from 1994 to 2000. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1990, a Recorder in 1991 and to the High Court Bench in 2002. He was Presiding Judge on the midland circuit from 2006 to 2009. As a High Court Judge he has sat in the Court of Appeal Criminal Division, the Divisional Court, the Queen’s Bench Division, and the Administrative Court and is a Visitor to the Inns of Court. In July 2012 he was appointed as a Lord Justice of Appeal.