Barbara Mensah

Last updated

Barbara Mensah
NationalityGhanaian
Alma mater University of Wales
Occupation Judge

Barbara Mensah is a British judge of Ghanaian descent. She became the first circuit judge of African origin in England and Wales when she was appointed to the South Eastern Circuit in 2005. As of October 2016 she sits in Luton Crown Court, England. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Early life

Mensah was born in Ghana, the daughter of a business magnate. She lived in Ghana until she was six years when she moved to the United Kingdom. She was the first university graduate from her family. [4]

Education

Mensah attended Millfield School [5] and subsequently studied Philosophy at the University of Wales in Swansea before training to be a barrister. [2] She is also an alumna of City University London and Queen Mary University London. [4] In 2009 she was named Old Millfieldian of the Year in recognition of her achievement in being appointed as the first circuit judge of African origin. [5]

Career

Mensah was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1984. Early on in her career she took up private sector work and then moved on to sit on a Financial Services Tribunal. She became interested in further judicial work. She was appointed a recorder in 2003. She was appointed as a circuit judge on the South Eastern Circuit in 2005 and is currently (2016) a circuit judge at the Luton Crown Court, the first woman of African descent to attain that position. [6] She was awarded an honorary degree of juris doctor in 2015 by City, University of London in acknowledgement her contribution to the law profession. [4]

Publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Arden, Lady Arden of Heswall</span> British former Supreme Court judge

Mary Howarth Arden, Baroness Mance,, KC, PC, known professionally as Lady Arden of Heswall, is a former Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Before that, she was a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Lane</span> English barrister and judge

Dame Elizabeth Kathleen Lane, DBE was an English barrister and judge. She was the first woman appointed as a judge in the County Court, the first female High Court judge in England, and the first female bencher.

A recorder is a judicial officer in England and Wales and some other common law jurisdictions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circuit judge (England and Wales)</span> Type of judge in the United Kingdom

Circuit judges are judges in England and Wales who sit in the Crown Court, the County Court and some specialized sub-divisions of the High Court of Justice, such as the Technology and Construction Court. There are currently over 600 circuit judges throughout England and Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judiciary of England and Wales</span>

There are various levels of judiciary in England and Wales—different types of courts have different styles of judges. They also form a strict hierarchy of importance, in line with the order of the courts in which they sit, so that judges of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales are given more weight than district judges sitting in county courts and magistrates' courts. On 1 April 2020 there were 3,174 judges in post in England and Wales. Some judges with United Kingdom-wide jurisdiction also sit in England and Wales, particularly Justices of the United Kingdom Supreme Court and members of the tribunals judiciary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heather Hallett, Baroness Hallett</span> English judge (born 1949)

Heather Carol Hallett, Baroness Hallett,, is a retired English judge of the Court of Appeal and a crossbench life peer. The first woman to chair the Bar Council and the fifth woman to sit in the Court of Appeal, Hallett led the independent inquest into the 7/7 bombings. In April 2019, she was appointed Chair of the Security Vettings Appeal Panel. In December 2021, she was announced as the chair of the public inquiry into the UK Government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. On 29 June 2022, the Government accepted Baroness Hallett's proposed terms of reference for the inquiry, with minor changes suggested by the devolved administrations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophia Akuffo</span> Ghanaian judge

Sophia Abena Boafoa Akuffo was the Chief Justice of Ghana from 19 June 2017 until 20 December 2019. She had been a Judge in the Supreme Court of Ghana since 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supreme Court of Ghana</span> Highest judicial body in Ghana

The Supreme Court of Ghana is the highest judicial body in Ghana. Ghana's 1992 constitution guarantees the independence and separation of the Judiciary from the Legislative and the Executive arms of government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnnie B. Rawlinson</span> American judge

Johnnie Blakeney Rawlinson is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilhelmina Wright</span> American judge (born 1964)

Wilhelmina Marie Wright is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. She is the only jurist in Minnesota's history to be state district court judge, appellate court judge and state supreme court justice. She was formerly an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, a judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, and a judge of the Minnesota District Court, Second Judicial District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dentaa</span> British-Ghanaian entertainer (born 1983)

Akosua Dentaa Amoateng MBE, best known by her stage name Dentaa, is a British Ghanaian entrepreneur, actress, TV presenter, singer, producer and manager. She was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours and in 2017 she received the Ghana Peace Awards Humanitarian Service Laureate in Accra, Ghana. In mid-September of 2020 she was appointed by Asante Kotoko S.C. as their International Relations Manager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicola Davies (judge)</span> British judge

Dame Nicola Velfor Davies is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, to which she was appointed in 2018. At the Bar she practised in medical law. She is referred to as Rt Hon Lady Justice Nicola Davies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Mensah (lawyer)</span> Ghanaian lawyer (1932–2020)

Thomas A. Mensah was a Ghanaian judge, law professor and diplomat who served as judge and president of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) from 1996 to 1999 and continued as a judge from 1999 to 2005. He was the first president of the tribunal. Before his appointment to the tribunal, Mensah was Ghana's High Commissioner to South Africa and a former Assistant Secretary-General at the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleri Rees</span> Welsh judge

Eleri Mair Rees is a Welsh judge. Since 18 June 2012, she has been the Resident Judge of Cardiff Crown Court and Recorder of Cardiff. She has been a circuit judge since 2002. She was called to the bar in 1975, and served as a Justices' clerk from 1983 to 1994 and as a stipendiary magistrate between 1994 and 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anuja Dhir</span>

Anuja Ravindra Dhir, Lady LavenderKC, is a British circuit judge. She was the first non-white judge to be appointed to sit full-time at the Old Bailey.

Her Ladyship JusticeGertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo is a Ghanaian judge. She was nominated to the Supreme Court in November 2019 and received parliamentary approval in December 2019. She was sworn in on 17 December 2019. She was one of the first Justices of the Commercial Division of the High Court and has been active in the core reform agenda and activities of the Judiciary and Judicial Service of Ghana since 2005. She was nominated to the office of Chief Justice in April 2023 to replace Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah who retired as Chief Justice on May 24, 2023. She was sworn into office as the 15th Chief Justice of Ghana on 12 June 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong</span> American judge (born 1976)

Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong is an American attorney and judge serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. She is a former judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holly A. Thomas</span> American federal judge (born 1979)

Holly Aiyisha Thomas is an American attorney serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She previously served as a judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court from 2018 to 2022.

Lisa Holder White is an American lawyer who has served as a justice of the Illinois Supreme Court since July 2022. She previously served as a judge of the Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court from 2013 to 2022, and as a trial judge in the Illinois Sixth Judicial Circuit Court from 2001 to 2013. She is the first Black woman to be elevated to the Illinois Supreme Court.

References

  1. Eleady-cole, George (18 April 2014). "THE BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY:: BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRO-BRITISH " JUDGE BARBARA MENSAH " IS A CROWN COURT JUDGE WHO BECAME THE FIRST CIRCUIT JUDGE OF AFRICAN DESCENT : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "". THE BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Broadening Britain's judicial ranks". BBC. 11 March 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  3. "Outrage over man jailed for court picture on BlackBerry". The Independent. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "Judge Barbara Mensah awarded honorary degree". City, University of London. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Old Millfieldians of the Year" (PDF). finalsite.net. 7 July 2022. p. 2. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  6. "Barbara Mensah". Black Letter Law Publication. Retrieved 29 January 2016.