Senior coroner issued with formal warning for misconduct over exclusion of court manager

A senior coroner has been issued with a formal warning for misconduct after he deliberately excluded a court manager from operational meetings.

Senior Coroner Martin Fleming was given the same sanction in March 2021 for shouting during a telephone conversation with the same complainant.

The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office said two of the allegations made against Fleming were disproven but two others were upheld. Fleming was found to have deliberately excluded the coroner’s court manager from contributing to operational meetings and decisions. He was also found to have failed to allow the coroner’s court manager a fob to access the building which ‘hindered the delivery of her duties’.

A JCIO spokesperson said: ‘The misconduct was found to be prolonged and aggravated by the fact that it was a second offence against the same person. Mr Fleming was found to be in breach of his obligation to be courteous, patient and respectful of the complainant’s dignity.’

Fleming denied the majority of the allegations. He ‘believed the complainant’s role was non-operational thus it did not warrant a consistent level of contact with him and a day pass to the building would be sufficient for her working purposes’, the JCIO added.

The investigating judge said Fleming was a ‘hardworking, conscientious coroner who had invested time in improving the performance of the court and who was respected and admired by assistant coroners who knew his conduct and manner well’.

A reprimand was recommended as the appropriate sanction. The lady chief justice and lord chancellor decided the lesser sanction of a formal warning was ‘more appropriate’.

The JCIO said: ‘The key factors in this decision was that no misconduct was found for bullying and an absence of any malevolence. They also took into consideration the coroner’s genuine insight and remorse for the unintended consequences of his behaviour.’