Jacqueline Davies

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Jacqueline Davies
Born (1948-05-21) 21 May 1948 (age 73)
NationalityBritish
OccupationCircuit judge
Spouse(s)Paul Clark (?–2008; his death)

Jacqueline M. Davies styled Her Honour Judge Jacqueline Davies (born 21 May 1948)[1] is a Circuit Judge, working in the North Eastern region of the UK. She was appointed on 29 June 1993.[2] Her Honour Judge Jacqueline Davies died peacefully on April 18th, 2019 in Wheatfields Hospice, aged 70 years.

Notable Decisions[]

Twitter Joke Trial[]

On 11 November 2010 Judge Jacqueline Davies, sitting with two magistrates, refused an appeal against the verdict of the "Twitter Joke Trial", from Paul Chambers who had posted a message on Twitter saying:[3]

Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You've got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!!

Chambers was appealing his conviction for "sending a public electronic message that was grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character contrary to the Communications Act 2003"[4] at Doncaster magistrates court[5]

When Judge Davies heard the appeal in Doncaster Crown Court she judged that the tweet was "obviously menacing"[6] and that Chambers must have known that it might be taken seriously.[7] She upheld the £1000 fine, and ordered that he pay an extra £2000 in legal costs.[8]

Many members of Twitter registered their disapproval of the judgement, and Stephen Fry offered to pay the defendant's legal bill.[8]

Judge Davies' decision was reversed on appeal in the High Court by decision dated 27 July 2012. The 13 page judgment by Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge, stated:[9][10]

We have concluded that, on an objective assessment, the decision of the Crown Court that this 'tweet' constituted or included a message of a menacing character was not open to it. On this basis, the appeal against conviction must be allowed.

Personal life[]

Judge Davies was married to Judge Paul Clark who died on 7 October 2008 [11]

In 2009 Judge Davies took part in a charity walk across the Sinai Desert in memory of her husband and to raise money for and Wellbeing of Women.[12]

References[]

  1. ^ "Birthdays". The Guardian. 21 May 2014. p. 43.
  2. ^ "List of members of the judiciary - Circuit Judges". Judiciary.gov.uk. 5 March 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  3. ^ Chambers, Paul (11 May 2010). "My tweet was silly, but the police reaction was absurd". Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  4. ^ "Communications Act 2003". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  5. ^ Wainwright, Martin (10 May 2010). "Wrong kind of tweet leaves air traveller £1,000 out of pocket". Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  6. ^ "Twitter joke martyr loses appeal". Theregister.co.uk. 11 November 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  7. ^ Wainwright, Martin (11 November 2010). "Twitter joke trial: Paul Chambers loses appeal against conviction". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  8. ^ a b Siddique, Haroon (12 November 2010). "#IAmSpartacus campaign explodes on Twitter in support of airport joker". The Guardian. London.
  9. ^ "Approved Judgment" (PDF). Judiciary.gov.uk. 27 July 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  10. ^ "Chambers v Director of Public Prosecutions [2012] EWHC 2157 (QB) (27 July 2012)". BAILII. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  11. ^ "Paul Clark (From Oxford Mail)". Oxfordmail.co.uk. 15 October 2008. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  12. ^ "The Barrister Blog: Judge completes trek across Sinai Desert". Timkevan.blogspot.com. 24 March 2009. Retrieved 18 December 2016.


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