Judge who fell asleep during a rape trial reprimanded by Lord Chancellor

A judge who caused a £35,000 rape trial to collapse because he dozed off during its closing stages has been formally reprimanded by the Lord Chancellor.

After an inquiry into the incident at Gloucester Crown Court last December, Judge Gabriel Hutton "accepted in the face of the evidence that he must have fallen asleep," said a spokesman for the Lord Chancellor's Department.

He added that Judge Hutton, 69, "very much regrets that he did so. He has given the Lord Chancellor an assurance that he will not do so again."

The trial was abandoned on its fifth day at an estimated cost to the taxpayer of £35,000 after the defence barrister noticed Judge Hutton appeared to have dropped off twice during the closing speeches.

Defence counsel Chris Austin applied for the jury to be discharged and a retrial ordered, on the grounds that the judge could not give a proper summing up of the case.

Judge Hutton agreed and stopped the trial of Lee Woodward, 21, from Sharpness, near Dursley, south Gloucestershire.

At a retrial in February, Mr Woodward was cleared of raping an 18-year-old woman at Sharpness docks. Judge Hutton, who lives near Dursley, Gloucestershire, has been a circuit judge since 1978 and resident judge at Gloucester Crown Court since 1990.

The spokesman for Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, said a number of statements from people in court at the time of the incident had been considered.

"The Lord Chancellor considers it essential all judges pay close attention to the entire proceedings before them in order to ensure fairness to all parties.

"He has, therefore, formally reprimanded the judge and has warned him that there can be no repetition."