Magistrate reprimanded for swearing in court

Magistrate Jonathan Dannatt said he was "horrified" by his behaviour

A magistrate has been issued with a misconduct warning after he swore in court and told a witness "I am sick of seeing you, get out".

Jonathan Dannatt, an experienced Justice of the Peace in Staffordshire, was strongly criticised by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO).

It said the witness involved was left feeling "shocked and embarrassed" by the incident, which occurred as Mr Dannat was delivering his verdict.

The Justice of the Peace apologised, saying he was "horrified" with the way he behaved and "profoundly sorry" for what happened.

Warning: This report contains language that some might find offensive.

The JCIO said he had "significantly breached the expected standards of conduct".

"The risk of reputational damage to the magistracy was significant and the witness experienced emotional distress," it added.

The JCIO found the magistrate had said "this is shit" after the bench had delivered its verdict in a case, adding that the language and behaviour amounted to serious misconduct.

A spokesperson for the organisation confirmed the magistrate had been issued with a formal warning.

Mr Dannatt, who has been a magistrate for 17 years, said the outburst arose from concerns about the impact of the sentence on the defendant and their family, as well as the reaction of the witness to the result.

He accepted he swore and asked the witness to leave in an abrupt manner, but told the investigation he did not remember telling the witness to "get out of here".