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Article: Recorder is forced to stand down.(News)
- Article from:
- Birmingham Mail (England)
- Article date:
- December 26, 2008
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Birmingham Post & Mail Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: By Ross McCarthy
THE Recorder of Birmingham has been forced to resign after admitting a "serious error of judgment" by phoning a prosecution lawyer outside court.
Judge Frank Chapman said he left a voicemail with the lawyer after "a long and stressful week".
It is understood it was not the content of the phone call that was the problem but the fact he made the call in the first place. Such contacts outside court are not allowed because they could be seen to show bias to a particular party.
Judge Chapman, aged 62, said: "At the end of a long and stressful week, I left a message on the voicemail of a prosecution counsel in a ...