Bruce Hyman

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Bruce Anthony Hyman
NationalityEnglish
Occupations
Criminal statusReleased
Conviction Perverting the course of justice (2007)
Criminal charge Perverting the course of justice
Penalty12 months imprisonment; with a two–month non–parole period
Comments Disbarred as a barrister by the Bar Standards Board

Bruce Anthony Hyman is a British lawyer and former radio and TV producer. A barrister by profession, in 2007 Hyman was the first person in his profession in 800 years [1] [2] to be incarcerated for attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Contents

Crime

On Monday 6 August 2007 Hyman was convicted of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Hyman had been representing a divorced woman fighting for custody of her four-year-old daughter when he tried to falsely incriminate the girl's father. The father, Simon Eades, was applying for increased access to his child. Hyman had crafted and sent a fraudulent email to the father which appeared to be from a charity campaigning for fathers' rights and whose content appeared to support the father's claim that he should be granted greater access to his daughter. When Eades presented the email in court, Hyman accused him of forgery. Eades' own detective work attempting to clear his name led ultimately to the arrest of Hyman. CCTV footage from a computer shop proved that Hyman had sent the email and thus had attempted to falsely incriminate Eades. [1] [3] [4] [5] [6] On 19 September 2007 Hyman was jailed for 12 months at Bristol Crown Court, and ordered to pay £3,000 compensation to his victim. [7] He was released a few days before Christmas 2007 after serving just over two months of his sentence. [8] In November 2008 Hyman was permanently disbarred by the Bar Standards Board. [9]

At his trial, Hyman, who had committed his crime in the family court, produced a character reference from his friend, Sir Mark Potter, who was the head of the family division of UK justice. A complaint against Sir Mark Potter in this regard was investigated by the Office of Judicial Complaints. [10]

Work

At Above the Title Productions Hyman produced three new radio series of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in 2003 and 2004, with Helen Chattwell and Dirk Maggs. [11] [12] He also acted as Executive Producer of the BBC Radio 4 programme presented by Clive Anderson called Unreliable Evidence until 2006. Hyman has written scripts for Johnny Vegas, Angus Deayton and Gordon Brown. [13]

References

  1. 1 2 "Bruce Hyman may today become the first Barrister in British history to go to jail for perverting the course of justice". Today . 29 August 2007. BBC Radio 4.
  2. ↑ Morris, Steven (20 September 2007). "Barrister becomes first to be jailed for perverting justice". The Guardian . Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  3. ↑ Borland, Sophie (31 August 2007). "Framed father tells of barrister fake email plot". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 3 September 2007.
  4. ↑ "Producer lawyer perverts justice". BBC News . 6 August 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  5. ↑ Wikinews-logo.svg UK PM's speechwriter awaits sentence at Wikinews
  6. ↑ Doward, Jamie (26 August 2007). "The friend of the stars who fell from grace". The Observer . Guardian Media Group . Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  7. ↑ "Prison term for producer lawyer". BBC News. 19 September 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  8. ↑ Mullen, Marc (24 January 2008). "Questions asked as crooked legal eagle is freed early". Real Fathers for Justice. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011.
  9. ↑ "Past Disciplinary Finding | Mr Bruce Anthony Hyman". Bar Standards Board . 10 November 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  10. ↑ Doward, Jamie (16 November 2008). "Senior judge faces fresh investigation by watchdog". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  11. ↑ "the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Above the Title. Archived from the original on 23 October 2005.
  12. ↑ "Final Production Diary - 1 June 2005". The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. BBC Radio 4 . Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  13. ↑ Price, Emma (5 February 2007). "Bye to the old, welcome to the new". City University Student Law Society. City St George's, University of London. Archived from the original on 21 October 2007.
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