Judges receive support to help cope with 'upsetting' child abuse cases, senior legal figure reveals

Number of harrowing cases has increased to become a 'steady diet' for some judges

Judges are receiving support to help them cope with the emotional impact of “upsetting” child abuse cases they have to listen to in court, one of the country’s most senior legal figures has revealed.

The need for support to deal with the harrowing details uncovered in criminal cases was revealed by the president of the Supreme Court as he gave evidence to a parliamentary committee.

Lord Reed of Allermuir said that the number of child abuse trials had increased so much in recent years that some judges were faced with a “steady diet” of cases taking up large portions of their working life.

During an annual evidence session at the House of Lords Constitution Committee, Lord Reed was asked whether sufficient health and well-being services were available for judges.

He replied: “We do have these services. Where they are needed is for criminal judges who are on a steady diet of child abuse cases.

“I know from my own experience of doing these cases, they can be very upsetting.

“In the days when I was a criminal judge, you did them every so often, but now it can be a pretty much steady diet for some judges.

“For them and for the juries there are support mechanisms available which they are made aware of.”

Lord Reed said that for judges of the Supreme Court - which hears largely commercial cases - support services were required only rarely, when one of the cases they hear becomes the centre of controversy.

He said the courts communication service provided a “buffer” for judges when they came under attack in the media or were doorstepped by photographers while dealing with a particularly contentious case.

But he said that in cases like last year’s Supreme Court ruling that Boris Johnson’s suspension of parliament was unlawful, media coverage had overall been “balanced”.

And he said the case had the knock-on effect of improving public understanding of the court’s functions, and had even boosted sales of the famous spider brooch worn by Lady Hale, who he succeeded in January this year.