A magistrate has been given a formal warning for misconduct after sending a witness statement from a case to his bench chair.
Manjit Cheema emailed a witness statement to his bench chair in breach of confidentiality and data protection rules. The bench chair said Cheema had remarked that a male party to the case could be a risk to women.
The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office said Cheema accepted he had forwarded a witness statement form the case which included personal details of individuals.
It said: ‘[Mr Cheema] stated that he did so because he had not dealt with a case of this nature before, and he wanted to aid his learning by sharing the document with his bench chair and asking for advice.’
Cheema, who has a 25-year record of service with no previous findings of misconduct, apologised for his actions and said he ‘understood his obligations regarding confidentiality and had not intended to cause any harm by his action’.
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A conduct panel found that, by sending the witness statement to his bench chair, Cheema ‘breached confidentiality, failed to be circumspect in his conduct and failed to respect confidences’ and ‘failed to comply with guidance on judicial data protection’, the JCIO said.
‘In recommending that Mr Cheema receive a reprimand, the conduct panel, while acknowledging that he had apologised and had a lengthy and unblemished record of service, concluded that he had shown little insight regarding the potential consequences of his actions.’
Mr Justice Keehan, on behalf of the lady chief justice, and the lord chancellor, ‘decided that a formal warning would be reasonable and proportionate’.
