A magistrate has been issued with a formal warning for misconduct after commenting on an animal cruelty case on social media site Facebook.

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Anne Toomer replied in February to a comment on a Facebook site for local residents about a case concerning animal cruelty. Stating that the comment was misleading, Toomer referred to herself as the judge who had presided over the case and commented on the likelihood of the defendant being imprisoned.

The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office said in her Facebook comment she also referred to the defendant’s ‘apparent lack of emotion’ during the hearing.

Toomer took full responsibility for her actions. She deleted the comment and ‘gave assurances as to her future conduct’.

A spokesperson for the JCIO said: ‘The declaration and undertaking signed by all magistrates on their appointment states that they will maintain the good reputation of the magistracy at all times, in their private, working, and public lives.

‘Additionally, social media guidance for the judiciary cautions office holders not to respond to inaccurate or unfair social media reports or comments.’

Mr Justice Keehan, with the lord chancellor’s agreement, issued Toomer with a sanction of formal warning for misconduct.