Judge Lucraft | |
---|---|
Recorder of London | |
Assumed office 2020 | |
Preceded by | Sir Nicholas Hilliard |
Chief Coroner of England and Wales | |
In office 2016–2020 | |
Preceded by | Sir Peter Thornton |
Succeeded by | Thomas Teague |
Personal details | |
Born | December 1961 (age 62–63) |
Alma mater | University of Kent at Canterbury |
Mark Lucraft,KC (born December 1961),is a British barrister and judge.
Serving since 2020 as Recorder of London,the most senior Circuit judge at the Old Bailey,Lucraft was Chief Coroner of England and Wales from 2016 to 2020.
Educated at Wood Green School,Lucraft read law at the University of Kent,graduating BA in 1983, [1] before being called to the Bar in 1984. [1] Appointed Recorder in 2003, [1] he took silk (QC) in 2006, [1] becoming a full-time judge in 2012 [2] and was a Senior Circuit Judge at the Central Criminal Court ("Old Bailey") from 2015,where he was appointed as Resident Judge in April 2020. [3] Prominent cases include a life sentence in 2024 for Fiona Beal,who murdered her partner Nicholas Billingham in 2021. [4]
From 2016 to 2020,he was Chief Coroner of England and Wales,while continuing as an Old Bailey judge. [5] [1] As Chief Coroner,he presided over the inquests into the 2017 Westminster attack, [6] the 2017 London Bridge and Borough Market attack, [7] and the 2019 London Bridge stabbings. [8]
In 2020,before relinquishing the role of Chief Coroner,he became Recorder of London,the senior judge at the Old Bailey. [9] [10] The roles were allowed to overlap due to the pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. [9] By tradition,the Recorder of London is also appointed High Steward of Southwark, [11] and Lucraft accordingly occupies this role. [12] In October 2023,he ruled that the name and date of birth of the police officer who shot Chris Kaba could be made public on 30 January 2024. [13]
General editor of Archbold Criminal Pleading,Evidence and Practice ,an annual publication for practitioners of criminal law in the Crown Courts, [14] Lucraft is a Liveryman of the Founders' Company and an Honorary Freeman of the Curriers' Company.[ citation needed ]
A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within the coroner's jurisdiction.
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales,commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands,is a criminal court building in central London,one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The street outside follows the route of the ancient wall around the City of London,which was part of the fortification's bailey,hence the metonymic name.
The Courts of England and Wales,supported administratively by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service,are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales.
The Judiciary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the judicial branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Under the Basic Law of Hong Kong,it exercises the judicial power of the Region and is independent of the executive and legislative branches of the Government. The courts in Hong Kong hear and adjudicate all prosecutions and civil disputes,including all public and private law matters.
A recorder is a judicial officer in England and Wales and some other common law jurisdictions.
The High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is a part of the legal system of Hong Kong. It consists of the Court of Appeal and the Court of First Instance;it deals with criminal and civil cases which have risen beyond the lower courts. It is a superior court of record of unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction. It was named the Supreme Court before 1997. Though previously named the Supreme Court,this Court has long been the local equivalent to the Senior Courts of England and Wales and has never been vested with the power of final adjudication.
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.
Heather Carol Hallett,Baroness Hallett,,is a retired British 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.
In English law,Irish law and Northern Irish law,unlawful killing is a verdict that can be returned by an inquest in England and Wales and Ireland when someone has been killed by one or more unknown persons. The verdict means that the killing was done without lawful excuse and in breach of criminal law. This includes murder,manslaughter,infanticide and causing death by dangerous driving. A verdict of unlawful killing generally leads to a police investigation,with the aim of gathering sufficient evidence to identify,charge and prosecute those responsible.
The recorder of London is an ancient legal office in the City of London. The recorder of London is the senior circuit judge at the Central Criminal Court,hearing trials of criminal offences. The recorder is appointed by the Crown on the recommendation of the City of London Corporation with the concurrence of the Lord Chancellor. The recorder's deputy is the Common Serjeant of London,appointed by the Crown on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor. The recorder of London is,since 14 April 2020,Mark Lucraft.
The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the law on coroners and criminal justice in England and Wales.
Sir Peter Ribblesdale Thornton KC is a former Senior Circuit Judge and former Chief Coroner of England and Wales.
Sir Nicholas Hilliard,is a British judge who served as Recorder of London,an ancient and senior legal post at the Old Bailey,and before that Common Serjeant of London,the Recorder's second,appointed to that office in May 2013. From 6 January 2015 he was Recorder of London,the senior judge at the Old Bailey. Promoted,in October 2019,a judge of the High Court of Justice,he took up that appointment on 19 November 2019 ceasing to be Recorder of London.
Sue Lascelles Carr,Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill,is an English jurist and life peer who has served as Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales since 1 October 2023. She is the first woman to serve as the head of the judiciary of England and Wales since the inception of the office of Lord Chief Justice in the 13th century. Carr previously served as a High Court judge from 2013 to 2020 and a Lady Justice of Appeal from 2020 to 2023.
The Judiciary of Sri Lanka are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in Sri Lanka. The Constitution of Sri Lanka defines courts as independent institutions within the traditional framework of checks and balances. They apply Sri Lankan Law which is an amalgam of English common law,Roman-Dutch civil law and Customary Law;and are established under the Judicature Act No 02 of 1978 of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.
Ian Duncan Burnett,Baron Burnett of Maldon,,is a British judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 2017 to 2023.
On 29 November 2019,five people were stabbed,two of them fatally,in Central London. The attacker,Usman Khan,had been released from prison in 2018 on licence after serving a sentence for terrorist offences.
The Chief Coroner of England and Wales is the most senior coroner in England and Wales,and supervises the work of other coroners in that jurisdiction.
Alexia Grainne Durran is a British barrister,judge and coroner. Since May 2024,she has been the Chief Coroner of England and Wales. Having been called to the bar in 1995,she was made a circuit judge in 2014 and deputy chief coroner in 2019.