Magistrate issued with formal advice over ‘unconscious bias’ comments

A magistrate has been issued with formal advice for misconduct over comments which ‘betrayed unconscious bias on her part’ and made her colleague feel uncomfortable.

A fellow magistrate complained that during two conversations, Lynn Killoran made ‘remarks which displayed an unconscious bias of an antisemitic nature’. He alleged she spoke about her charity sector work and a ‘correlation between Jewish charities and fraud’.

A Judicial Conduct Investigations Office spokesperson said Killoran was also alleged to have stated that ‘Jewish charities are believed to make use of the "Jewish Accounting System", whereby money disappears without a trace and reappears later at a much higher value’. It added: ‘The magistrate, himself Jewish, was concerned that Ms Killoran was relaying antisemitic stereotypes.’

Killoran denied making the majority of the alleged comments. She said what she did say had been taken out of context and denied her comments were antisemitic. Following an investigation it was found that ‘certain’ of Killoran’s comments ‘betrayed unconscious bias on her part’.

The JCIO said: ‘While her behaviour was not deliberate or malicious, she had demonstrated a lack of awareness and had made her colleague feel concerned and uncomfortable.

‘Mr Justice Keehan [on behalf of the lady chief justice] and the lord chancellor agreed…that formal advice would be a reasonable and proportionate sanction in this case. ‘In reaching their decision, they took into account that Ms Killoran’s comments, while ill judged, were not malicious or intended to cause offence, and that this was an isolated incident.’