Brian Hutton, Baron Hutton

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James Brian Edward Hutton, Baron Hutton, PC (born June 29, 1931), is a former British Law Lord.

Contents 1 Background 2 Judge 3 See also 4 External links

[edit] Background

Hutton was born in Belfast and studied at Shrewsbury School and Balliol College, Oxford (BA jurisprudence, 1953) before returning to Belfast to become a barrister (after study at the Queen's University of Belfast), being called to the Northern Ireland Bar in 1954. He began working as junior counsel to the Attorney General for Northern Ireland in 1969.

He became Queen's Counsel (NI) in 1970. From 1979 to 1988, he was (as Sir Brian Hutton) a High Court judge. In 1988 he became Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, being made Baron Hutton, of Bresagh in the County of Down, before moving to England in 1997 to become a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, or law lord.

[edit] Judge

On March 30, 1994 as Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, he dismissed Private Lee Clegg's appeal against his controversial murder conviction. On March 21, 2002, Lord Hutton was one of four Law Lords to reject David Shayler's application to use a 'public interest' defence as defined in section 1 of the Official Secrets Act at his trial.

Lord Hutton represented the Ministry of Defence at the inquest into the killing of civil rights marchers on 'Bloody Sunday'. Later, he publicly reprimanded Major Hubert O'Neil, the coroner presiding over the inquest, when the coroner accused the British Army of murder, as this contradicted Lord Chief Justice Widgery's findings (see [1]). The Widgery Tribunal, a commission of inquiry established by the Heath government, is now widely regarded as a whitewash of the British Army.

Lord Hutton also came to public attention in 1999 during the extradition proceedings of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. Pinochet had been arrested in London on torture allegations by request of a Spanish judge. Five Law Lords, the UK's highest court, decided by a 3-2 majority that Pinochet was to be extradited to Spain. Lord Hutton led a public campaign against this decision on the grounds that Lord Hoffmann, one of the five Law Lords, had links to human rights group Amnesty International. The verdict was then overturned by a panel of seven Law Lords which included Lord Hutton (see [2], [3]).

In 1978 he defended Britain in the European Court of Human Rights when it was found guilty of torturing internees without trial. He sentenced 10 men to 1,001 years in prison on the word of 'supergrass' informer Robert Quigley who was granted immunity in 1984.

Lord Hutton was appointed by the Blair government to chair the inquiry into the death of the British scientist Dr David Kelly at the heart of the September Dossier controversy. The inquiry commenced on August 11, 2003. Many observers were surprised when he delivered his report on January 28, 2004. Lord Hutton cleared the British Government in large part. His criticism of the BBC was regarded by many as unduly harsh^{[citation needed]} and led to the comment he had given the "benefit of judgement to virtually everyone in the government and no-one in the BBC".

Peter Oborne wrote in The Spectator in January 2004: "Legal opinion in Northern Ireland, where Lord Hutton practised for most of his career, emphasises the caution of his judgments^{[citation needed]}. He is said to have been habitually chary of making precedents.^{[citation needed]}

Though [he is] a dour Presbyterian, there were spectacular acquittals of some very grisly IRA terrorost suspects when he was a judge in the Diplock era." ^{[attribution needed]}

In the case Q v JOHN CHRISTOPHER WALSH, the appellant had been given the Trial Transcripts on 24th September 1993, and informed that his Appeal would be only in 3 days time. He was not permitted to consult with any legal advisor prior to the Appeal. The Appellants legal representatives protested at this and also informed the Court that they were not properly prepared. Hutton LCJ ruled that the Appeal was still to continue. The Appealant accused Hutton LCJ, Carswell LJ, and Kelly LJ of “railroading” him. The Appeal was adjourned and a new panel of judges were selected.

Having been at the receiving end of the British justice system, Northern Irish nationalists have a different view of Hutton. Sinn Féin and former IRA member (volunteer) Danny Morrison wrote in The Guardian: "Although in the Belfast high court Hutton occasionally acquitted republicans and dismissed the appeals of soldiers, nationalists generally considered him a hanging judge and the guardian angel of soldiers and police officers. [...] I was amused at the response of sections of the media and British public [to Hutton's exonerating the Blair government]. Do they know anything about how the establishment works?"

Lord Hutton retired as a Law Lord on January 11, 2004.

[edit] See also

• Hutton Inquiry
• David Kelly
• Members of the House of Lords
• Judicial functions of the House of Lords
• List of jurists
• List of members of the Privy Council

[edit] External links

• Profile from The Guardian
• BBC profile of Hutton
• Guardian piece: former Sinn Féin man Danny Morrison reviews Hutton's rulings
• Story from BBC News about his retirement
• The Hutton Inquiry