One of Britain’s most prominent judges announced his resignation today after his recently published book provoked sharp reaction and calls for his retirement.
Lord Denning, who as Master of the Rolls holds one of the most powerful and influential judicial offices in Britain and is the senior judge of the appellate system, said the controversy that erupted after the publication last week of his latest book, ”What Next in the Law,” had prompted him to move up his scheduled retirement in July.
In his book, which was withdrawn Tuesday, Lord Denning argued that all British citizens were no longer qualified to serve on juries because ”the English are no longer a homogeneous race.”
”They are white and black, colored and brown,” the 83-year-old judge wrote. ”Some of them come from countries where bribery and graft are accepted and where stealing is a virtue so long as you are not found out. They no longer share the same code of morals or religious beliefs.” Cites Riots Last Summer
Among his most controversial passages was the assertion that two leaders of the riots that broke out last summer in the port city of Bristol were not convicted because the defendants used their right to three pre-emptive challenges to determine the nature of the jury, which subsequently split along racial lines.
Lord Denning suggested that this practice was increasingly being used to overload juries with blacks who were reluctant to convict those of their own race.
The judge recommended that only ”sensible and responsible members of the community should serve on juries.” Last week, two of the black jurors in the Bristol riot trial threatened libel action if the book was not withdrawn and a public apology issued. Sibghat Kadri, chairman of the Society of Black Lawyers, which called for the judge to retire, said Lord Denning’s comments were degrading and ”couched in terms virulent enough to destroy any remaining credibility he may have as an unbiased and impartial interpreter of the law.”
