A High Court judge has issued a warning for misconduct over promotion review suggestions

A High Court judge has been given a formal warning for misconduct after he made “extensive suggestions” in a draft independent review that formed part of his promotion application. Judge Picken said he was “very sorry for causing anyone to question his integrity”.

Earlier this year, the judge applied for promotion to the Court of Appeal. As part of his application, he appointed two independent assessors to provide an “evidence-based assessment” of his suitability for the position.

The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office said the Judicial Appointments Commission’s guidelines state that candidates can speak to their candidates to suggest people to speak to and provide examples of their work. However, the assessment is confidential and cannot be disclosed to the candidate. The confidentiality guidelines appear “not only on the JAC website but also in a prominent and clear place on the assessment form itself.”

One of the nominated assessors accidentally sent JAC a partially completed draft assessment form. It contained “extensive comments and suggestions by Judge Picken showing that they had been disclosed to him.”

In statements to the JCIO, Picken said he had a “brief conversation” with his candidate about who to talk to and the “need” to base his assessment on evidence. When the candidate emailed a draft assessment and asked for comments, “parts…appeared to be unevidence-based and there was no record of the candidate having spoken to the individuals discussed.”

Picken said he did not read the confidentiality clause at the beginning of the evaluation form and did not believe there was any prohibition against his candidate sharing a draft with him.

Referring to Picken’s statements, the JCIO said Picken’s intention was to “ensure that his candidate understands the need to base his assessment on evidence.”

The JCIO added: “The assigned judge found that Judge Picken should have declined to comment on the draft assessment and removed it without reading it. They also found that some of the judge’s comments on the project went far beyond simply reminding the assessor of the need to provide evidence-based examples. They included extensive suggestions to improve the rating.

The Lord Chancellor and Chief Justice agreed with the recommendation to issue Picken a formal warning.

A JCIO spokesman said: “Reading the draft assessment and then commenting on his actions damaged his integrity and had the potential to seriously undermine confidence in the judicial appointment process.”