Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Leading judge to lecture at Leeds Law School
Picture: The Hon Mr Justice Goss. Image copyright Telegraph and Argus.
The Hon Mr Justice Goss will talk at the event, organised by the university’s Leeds Law School, between 6-7pm at the Rose Bowl, Portland Crescent, on 8 February.
Referring to cases he has been involved in throughout his career, the judge will explore the reasons for crime, the rationale of sentencing, and its effectiveness.
Called to the Bar in 1975, Justice Goss worked as a junior barrister practising on the North East Circuit in common law and crime.
Throughout his career he has been an Assistant Recorder, Recorder, QC, Circuit Judge, Senior Circuit Judge and Recorder of Newcastle Upon Tyne and a High Court Judge (Queens Bench Division). In 2017 he became a Presiding Judge on the North East Circuit.
As a lawyer, he was one of Britain's leading criminal barristers, noted for his cross-examination skills during high-profile cases including the successful prosecution of Gary Hart in the Selby rail crash in 2001, where ten people died.
More recently, Justice Goss used a rare legal power to dismiss a jury at Leeds Crown Court in February 2017 and take the case himself after evidence of jury tampering came to light. Justice Goss found two men on trial who took part in a ‘cash for crash’ plot – where an innocent pensioner was killed - guilty of manslaughter.
This was only the second Crown Court case in England and Wales to be heard by a judge alone under seldom-used judicial powers under the Criminal Justice Act 2003.
Deveral Capps, Dean of Leeds Law School, said of the event: “This Law in Practice lecture will have great appeal to students, staff and practitioners and members of the public. It is a real opportunity to gain an insight into our justice system from a judicial perspective”