Melford Stevenson

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Sir Aubrey Melford Steed Stevenson (1902 – 26 December 1987) was a British lawyer and High Court judge who served in many high-profile cases. He defended Ruth Ellis and prosecuted suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams, both unsuccessfully.

Contents

[edit] Notable cases

Stevenson was educated at Dulwich College.[1] He became a barrister in 1925.[2] From 1940–1945 he served as a Deputy Judge Advocate with the rank of major.[1] He was appointed King's Counsel in 1943.[3] In 1945 he served at the Nuremberg trials as Judge Advocate at the "Peleus Affair" trial. Heinz-Wilhelm Eck and two other officers of the German submarine U852 were sentenced to death by firing squad.[4] A year later in 1946, back in Britain, he sentenced Theodore Schurch to hang for spying.[5] He unsuccessfully stood as the Conservative Party candidate in the United Kingdom general election, 1945, for the Maldon division.[1]

In 1952 Stevenson was appointed Recorder of Cambridge (a part time judge).[6] In 1954 he represented the British Government in Kenya during Jomo Kenyatta's unsuccessful appeal against his conviction for involvement in Mau Mau activities.[2]

In 1955, aided by junior counsel Sebag Shaw and Peter Rawlinson, he defended Ruth Ellis. His conduct of the defence has been severely criticised by writer Monica Weller[7] for giving the "prosecution an easy time, subjecting prosecution witnesses to a minimum of cross-examination".[8] He opened by saying: "Let me make this abundantly plain: there is no question here but this woman shot this man [...] You will not hear one word from me – or from the lady herself – questioning that."[8] The jury took 23 minutes to find Ellis guilty.[8] She was hanged.

Stevenson was Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller's number 2 during the failed prosecution of suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams in 1957. The prosecution's conduct has been heavily criticised,[9][10] and its decision to drop a second murder charge via a nolle prosequi was later deemed by the presiding judge, Patrick Devlin, "an abuse of process".[11] It has been said that the prosecution might have had a better chance of success if Stevenson had been allowed to lead.[1] He was appointed a High Court judge on 1 October 1957,[12] and (as is traditional) knighted a few days later.[13] For the first four years he was assigned to the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division, and it was only after his transfer to the Queen's Bench Division, that he began to attract press attention.[1]

In 1969, as a judge, he sentenced the Kray brothers, saying "In my view, society has earned a rest from your activities."[14] Then in 1970 he controversially gave long sentences to Cambridge University students for taking part in demonstrations against the military government in Greece.[2]

[edit] Later career

In the 1973 New Year Honours he became a Privy Counsellor,[15] and retired in 1979.[16]

He died in 1987 of a heart attack.

[edit] Family

He married twice and had three children.[2] He threw out his first wife for having an affair with Colonel Maurice Buckmaster, head of the French section of the Special Operations Executive.[17]

[edit] Quotes

As a judge Stevenson was known for being outspoken:[14]

When presiding over a rape case, he described it as a "pretty anaemic kind of rape" because the accused's ex-girlfriend was the victim.[18]

Stevenson once said of a husband in a divorce case, “He chose to live in Manchester, a wholly incomprehensible choice for any free man to make“.[19]

To a man acquitted of rape he commented, “I see you come from Slough. It is a terrible place. You can go back there“.[19]

Of the Krays, he once said that they had only told the truth twice during the trial - when Reggie referred to a barrister as "a fat slob" and later when Ronnie accused the judge of being biased.[19]

In 1978 Stevenson was reprimanded by the Lord Chancellor Elwyn Jones[20] for calling the Sexual Offences Act 1967 a "buggers' charter".[14]

In the 1994 memoirs, Sword and Wig, of retired Court of Appeal judge, Sir Robin Dunn, Stevenson was described as, "the worst judge since the war". This prompted a number of high profile legal figures to defend Stevenson.[21]

[edit] In popular culture

Stevenson was played by Bernard Horsfall in the Lucky, Lucky Thirteen! episode in season one of "Lady Killers", 1980.[22]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Obituary of Sir Melford Stevenson: An outstanding and outspoken judge. The Times, 28 December 1987 from The Times Digital Archive (subscription required), Gale Group, Gale Document Number:CJ117545223
  2. ^ a b c d Sir Melford Stevenson, A Judge and Barrister - New York Times
  3. ^ London Gazette: no. 36069, pages 2899–2900, 25 June 1943. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
  4. ^ Heinz Eck: U-852, the only U-Boat War Criminal with the sinking of SS Peleus
  5. ^ EXTRA NOTES: MELFORD STEVENSON « Searching for the Truth about Ruth Ellis By Monica Weller
  6. ^ London Gazette: no. 39610, page 4075, 29 July 1952. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
  7. ^ Monica Weller and Muriel Jakubait, Ruth Ellis, My sister's secret life
  8. ^ a b c Melford Stevenson « Searching for the Truth about Ruth Ellis By Monica Weller
  9. ^ Cullen, Pamela V., "A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams", London, Elliott & Thompson, 2006, ISBN 1-904027-19-9
  10. ^ Rodney Hallworth, Mark Williams, Where there's a will... The sensational life of Dr John Bodkin Adams, 1983, Capstan Press, Jersey ISBN 0946797005
  11. ^ Patrick Devlin, Easing the passing: The trial of Doctor John Bodkin Adams, London, The Bodley Head, 1985
  12. ^ London Gazette: no. 41192, page 5761, 4 October 1957. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
  13. ^ London Gazette: no. 41200, page 5921, 11 October 1957. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
  14. ^ a b c BBC News | UK | Kray decision attacked
  15. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 45860, page 1, 29 December 1972. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
  16. ^ Cullen, Pamela V., "A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams", London, Elliott & Thompson, 2006, ISBN 1-904027-19-9
  17. ^ Telegraph obituary of Cecile Robinson
  18. ^ Marcel Berlins: Men accused of rape are being wrongly acquitted - thanks to jurors who think like John Redwood | Comment is free | The Guardian
  19. ^ a b c The Very Best of the Daily Telegraph Books of Obituaries edited by Hugh Massingberd
  20. ^ Gay and Lesbian Humanist – The Law that Dared to Lay the Blame
  21. ^ Retired judges rally to the defence of Melford Stevenson. The Times, p.5, 1 November 1994 from The Times Digital Archive (subscription required), Gale Group, Gale Document Number:CJ115648418
  22. ^ Bernard Horsfall - Filmography by type
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John Bodkin Adams murder case
Key figures
Prosecution figures
Defence figures
Frederick Geoffrey Lawrence · Edward Clarke
Witnesses
Other elements