A district judge was issued with formal advice for misconduct after she was found to have not approved an order in a timely manner.

The complaint about district judge Sarah Walker was made by a member of the public, the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) said. Following an investigation, Walker was found to have not approved the order in a timely manner while sitting as a deputy district judge and failed to immediately recognise the consequence of her inaction.

In mitigation, Walker apologised and said her busy sitting schedule and poor health at the time caused the issue. She said she had taken the complaint seriously and had sought advice from her leadership judges to prevent a recurrence. 

A spokesperson for the JCIO said: ‘The lord chief justice, with the lord chancellor’s agreement, has issued district judge Sarah Walker with formal advice for misconduct. The Guide to Judicial Conduct requires judicial officeholders to display diligence and care in the discharge of judicial duties.

‘In deciding to issue DJ Walker with formal advice, [the lord chief justice and lord chancellor] took into consideration her apology and the steps she had taken to ensure that a situation like this did not happen again.’