2016年5月22日星期日

鹹濕法官的申訴

Judge fired for watching porn at work claims disability discrimination in employment tribunal battle

A disgraced former judge who was sacked for watching porn on court computers is in court today claiming that the government unfairly sacked him.

Immigration specialist Warren Grant fell from grace in March last year when he, along with two others judges, was removed from his judicial position for viewing “pornographic material on judicial IT equipment”. Grant is reported to have accessed websites including Pleasure Zone, Spicy Tranny and Retro Porn Hub.

According to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office, both the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice concluded “this was an inexcusable misuse” of his judicial IT account and “wholly unacceptable conduct for a judicial office holder”.

Cambridge-educated former solicitor Grant, 61, has now raised doubts about the lawfulness of the sacking, and has made an employment law claim against the Ministry of Justice because of it. The 61 year-old — citing the Disability Discrimination Act — has said that his behaviour stemmed from a mental illness he was suffering from that was triggered by problems with his marriage. The illness has been reported by Metro to be depression.

The respondent has defended the claim, and reiterated that Grant broke strict guidelines when he used his work IT account to access the explicit websites.

The London Central Employment Tribunal has heard from Matrix Chambers barrister Mathew Purchase that:

This wasn’t a case of watching pornography one or two times, or even 10 or 20 times, but was persistent — several times a day — over a 14-month period or so.

The case has been before the London Central Employment Tribunal all week, including today, and a decision is expected shortly. A tribunal is able to award between £18,000 and £30,000 in damages if it finds serious disability discrimination.

As the matter is still ongoing, the Judicial Office declined to comment.
(20/5/2016 Legal Cheek)

去年三月的通告

JCIO 18/15 17 March 2015

STATEMENT FROM THE JUDICIAL CONDUCT INVESTIGATIONS OFFICE-

District Judge Timothy Bowles
Immigration Judge Warren Grant
Deputy District Judge and Recorder Peter Bullock
Recorder Andrew Maw
A spokesperson for the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office said:

Three judges: District Judge Timothy Bowles; Immigration Judge Warren Grant; and, Deputy District Judge and Recorder Peter Bullock ;have been removed from judicial office following an investigation into an allegation that they viewed pornographic material on judicial IT equipment in their offices. The Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice were satisfied that the material did not include images of children or any other illegal content, but concluded that this was an inexcusable misuse of their judicial IT accounts and wholly unacceptable conduct for a judicial office holder. A fourth judge, Recorder Andrew Maw , was also found to have viewed similar inappropriate material via his judicial IT account. The Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice would likewise have removed Recorder Maw had he not resigned before the conclusion of the disciplinary process. The judges were not linked in any way.

英國法官利用內庭電腦瀏覽鹹網炒魷魚, 抵死喇, 點知其中一條友竟然入稟告政府無理解僱, 引用傷殘歧視條例, 認為上鹹網源於自己的精神及婚姻問題, 所以解僱構成歧視, 嘩! 我都好佩服咁嘅理由都諗得出, 不愧是劍橋高才生。精神有問題究竟誰是因誰是果? 係越睇越精神抑或越睇就越有精神、婚姻問題呢? 又是一個先有雞抑或先有蛋的問題。14個月內一日用法院電腦上幾次鹹網, 無講每次幾長時間, 但又會咁得閒呢? 真係返工咁得閒睇就唔好慳, 自己買隻蛋嚟上網或者用自己手機, 咁你老細咪唔知你睇過乜囉。香港一樣喎, 法官電腦用嘅係intranet, 上網經司法機構的IT系統出街, 你去過邊個網站IT嗰邊一定知, 無得走。現在是電子年代, 一舉一動都很易留下電子足印, 真係做壞事而做得精密的人, 就會千方百計去避開任何留痕跡的機會。 即係點? 咪搞, 我唔教人做壞事, 唔會教人點先至唔留痕跡。

28 則留言:

  1. They should have thought twice before entering public life...

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    1. Not everyone is fit to be a judiciary officer. Public life is under public scrutiny.

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  2. "但又會咁得閒呢?" I often wonder what our CFA judges in Hong Kong do when they are not sitting in court. We don't have many cases which reach CFA after all. Simply writing judgments and doing research? I don't quite believe it. Is there any supervision at all? Does the Audit Department has any jurisdiction in overseeing CFA judges? Do you have any idea?

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    1. I never asked and have no idea. Who can supervise the boss?

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  3. 講來講去個官都係怕佢冇左份長糧,先會寫D咁無賴既理由。話哂咁樣係可以ground for dismissal.

    同時間英國司法機構個IT都幾有趣,block左唔俾任何人進入成人網站咪算數。做乜俾人入之後又搵返個record出黎?定係其實係有人搵個理由做低某D法官?

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    1. 鹹網千萬, block list未必update, 通常IT係睇流量異常甚至中毒了才會作調查

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  4. 美國海軍也有個將軍看鹹網丟官了, 其實用自己手機看就好了嘛, 用公家電腦看, 你當IT部門睡大覺嗎?

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    1. 環保署高官睇咸網卻無得炒

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    2. http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20090718/00176_017.html

      環境保護署一名首長級男性官員,今年三月被揭發經常在上班時間利用辦公室電腦瀏覽色情網頁,事後當局聲稱會嚴肅處理此宗醜聞,不過環保署迄今仍拒絕交代涉事官員的下場,僅證實一名助理署長被調離環保署,但不肯透露該名官員的調職原因。公務員事務局亦玩封嘴,拒絕透露有否紀律聆訊該名睇鹹網官員,亦不肯交代聆訊結果及懲處方式。立法會議員李卓人認為,高官上班花逾半時間睇鹹網,事態嚴重,當局有必要向納稅人交代有否懲處涉事違紀官員,不應單靠調職敷衍了事。

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    3. http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20090718/00176_017.html

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    4. 謝謝, 未必要即炒, 跟法官的品格要求有異。

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  5. 你唔教人做壞事,不過教人做左壞事之後點樣甩身吧了

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    1. 手機是私人事, 但用阿公電腦睇又另一回事了, 這是職場常識, 同"做左壞事之後點樣甩身"有何關係?

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  6. 我等緊你條茂里寫嚟畀我囉!

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  7. 標少,剛剛post了一次,好像冇成功,只好再post一次,真是打擾了。因為知道標少是案底方面的專家,所以想請問標少,是不是只要冇出過庭,冇書面認過罪,又冇打過指模,就表示冇criminal conviction record呢?還有就是,最近我在apply for jobs,有些公司會問:Do you have any civil or criminal conviction record?請問標少,What's the civil conviction record?

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    1. 我不是專家, 只是對此有點認識。你對刑事案底的講法粗略講正確, 所謂粗略是因為有些情況就算上了庭或書面認罪, 都沒有「刑事」案底, 因為不屬保留刑事案底的罪行。

      沒有civil conviction這回事, 民事訴訟只有勝訴和敗訴, 敗訴一方也不是一種定罪, 所以不能叫conviction。這條問題可以不理, 因為問的人概念錯誤。

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    2. 非常感謝標少秒回^^其實是這樣的,幾年前,我跟朋友約好在中環一家酒吧喝酒,因為自己就住在上環,很近,所以沒有帶身份證就直接拿八達通去那家酒吧了。可是那天突然警察查牌,查到我們喝酒的那家酒吧,我當時就傻眼。阿Sir問我要身份證的時候,我就解釋說,因為家裡住得很近,所以沒帶,但是我的八達通是個人八達通,有我的名字。阿Sir看了我的八達通就說,好吧,給你個warning,下次記得帶身份證出街。之後問了我的HKID number就讓我走了。我之後也沒上過庭,當時警察也沒要我打指模。那請問標少,這樣不算有criminal conviction吧?

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    3. 別嚇自己, 警察說給你一次警告, 就真的是口頭警告, 近這20多年非法入境人士少了, 所以沒帶身分證明文件也酌情不予檢控, 就算檢控也只是以傳票進行, 而不會打指模, 就算定罪也不會是刑事案底, 請放心。

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    4. 真的很感謝標少的回覆,讓我超放心的^^

      我會繼續做一個小粉絲,默默關注標少札記...lol

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  8. 標少,可否評下呢單野:
    涉收下屬貸款 海關監督脫罪 無物證 官斥控方「好隨便」
    http://news.mingpao.com/pns/dailynews/web_tc/article/20160524/s00002/1464027295391

    這是否控方犯了技術性錯誤而令被告脫罪?記得老廉已經唔係第一次犯呢D錯

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    1. Wahab made very strange comments if the report is accurate. In quite a number of cases, the evidence solely comes from the witness without any other corroboration. It suffices.

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  9. Is there any conflict of interest? Judiciary is the respondent but the Tribunal is part of the judiciary and the judge sitting at the Tribunal directly or indirectly report to the chief justice.

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    1. I don't think so. You could see many ludicrous applications before the court in HK against the Judiciary too, including against the CJ. There is no other choice. Only judicial officer should hear the cases. Who else?

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  10. 標標一定唔會慳, 用私人電腦唔駛擔心

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    1. 即些年無wifi蛋, 手機都無上網功能, 曾經鬧笑話, 法官耍搜尋風化案例, intranet block住這些字眼去不到, 後來修改了block list.

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