TWO people had their convictions quashed yesterday after complaints that the “irritable” conduct of the judge who presided over both hearings meant that they did not receive a fair trial.

A third case involving complaints about the same judge was adjourned until next week when the Court of Appeal in London will hear from the crown prosecutor who appeared at that trial.

The three unrelated cases took place at Snaresbrook Crown Court and all involved Judge Medawar, QC. The complaints included claims about the “animosity” expressed by the judge to a defence barrister and about his body language in relation to defence points — said to involve “rolling of the eyes and shaking of the head”.

Judge Medawar, 72, has caused controversy before. He aroused anger among lawyers and senior police officers in February by throwing out a child sex abuse case, saying that it was “trivial”.

Lord Justice Judge, sitting with Mrs Justice Rafferty and Sir Douglas Brown, quashed the conviction of a teacher, Angela Lashley, and did not order a retrial. Ms Lashley, 45, of Islington, North London, was sentenced to a 60-hour community punishment order after being found guilty last September of theft and obtaining property by deception.

Lord Justice Judge also quashed the conviction of Trevor Dickens but ordered him to face a retrial. Mr Dickens, 39, of Edgware, North London, was jailed for five years and nine months after being found guilty last February of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Lord Justice Judge said that the reasons for the judges’ decisions will be handed down at a later date.

A third case involved Patrick Bryant, 23, of Islington, who was jailed for eight years in May last year. He had been found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm and affray. The Court of Appeal adjourned his case until Thursday so that they can be assisted by the Crown Prosecutor, who appeared at the trial.

Ms Lashley’s barrister, Andrew Henley, who did not appear at her original trial, referred to the “degree of animosity” expressed by the judge to the defence counsel, citing comments such as “rubbish”, “nonsense” and “silliness”.

Mr Henley said: “An objective bystander would think one party is not getting a fair hearing, which was expressed through animosity.” Mr Dickens’s barrister, Jane Lockyer said that after the “short and very unhappy” proceedings, she was with her client in the court cells. Although not unfamiliar with the legal system, she said he was “close to tears and unable to speak”, not because he had been convicted or sentenced, but “because of the way his trial was dealt with”.

Judge Medawar had said that he had “never heard of such rubbish” when told of a proposed defence to be put forward. Ms Lockyer said: “He gave the distinct impression he (Mr Dickens) was wasting the court’s time by pleading not guilty.”

Trevor Burke, QC, representing Mr Bryant, said that the judge appeared irritated at the estimated length of the trial. The QC — who did not represent Mr Bryant at the trial — said that at in the absence of the jury, the judge told the defence barrister that he was “behaving in a way which I do not accept is reasonable”.

Mr Burke also complained about the judge’s body language during the trial. When defence points were raised, there had been “rolling of the eyes, shaking of the head and throwing down of the pen”.

Mr Burke said: “One of the many qualities judges are required to have, particularly these days, is restraint.” He said that juries looked to judges for assistance and may be influenced by obvious irritation.

Judge Medawar, QC, was made Queen’s Counsel in 1984. He has been a circuit judge since 1987 and was a member of the ethnic minority advisory committee to the Judicial Studies Board from 1993 to 1996.

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