Magistrate warned over behaviour in court

Complaints were made regarding three separate hearings

A magistrate in Leicestershire has been issued with formal advice for misconduct.

The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) said there were three complaints made about Susan Holcroft's behaviour during three separate court sittings.

It said the allegations claimed she "undermined a staff member in open court by interjecting abruptly, questioned the validity of advice provided by staff, disregarded reasonable requests by staff for more time to be able to prepare or start the court, and raised her voice in court".

Ms Holcroft said she felt "wrongly singled her out for decisions and actions taken by the bench as a whole".

However a committee member found "the majority of the allegations in the first two complaints were proved".

'Previously unblemished'

"In relation to the first two complaints, the nominated committee member found that Ms Holcroft did not treat court users respectfully and courteously and was not mindful of her position of authority, particularly in relation to less experienced staff," the JCIO said.

"She also showed a lack of self-awareness of how her words and behaviour could affect others.

"While she may have been motivated by a desire to be an authoritative and effective chair, she did not act professionally and failed to build effective working relationships."

A third complaint was found to have "lacked the specificity needed for Ms Holcroft to be able to respond to it given the lapse of time".

While noting her "previously unblemished conduct record", the JCIO said a sanction of formal advice reflected "her failure to take accountability or show insight into her behaviour".