Recorder of London
Sir Nicholas Hilliard (born 1 May 1959), is a British judge who served as Recorder of London, an ancient and senior legal post at the Old Bailey, and before that Common Serjeant of London, the Recorder's second, appointed to that office in May 2013. From 6 January 2015 he was Recorder of London, the senior judge at the Old Bailey.
Promoted, in October 2019, a judge of the High Court of Justice, he took up that appointment on 19 November 2019 ceasing to be Recorder of London.
Education.
Hilliard was educated at Bradfield College in Berkshire, and Lincoln College, Oxford. Called to the Bar in 1981, he was appointed a Bencher of the Middle Temple in 2003.
Career.
In 1995, Hilliard was appointed Treasury Counsel at the Central Criminal Court and served in that capacity until 2008 when he was promoted Senior Treasury Counsel. In 2001 he was appointed as a Recorder of the Crown Court and in 2003 became a Master of the Bench at the Middle Temple. Chairman of the Criminal Bar Association from 2005 to 2006, Hilliard took silk in 2008. In that year he led the prosecution of the murderers of Ben Kinsella.
Prosecutor.
In 2003, Hilliard led the prosecution of the case of R v Ingram, C., Ingram, D. and Whittock, T. In 2011, on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service, he unsuccessfully prosecuted Jonathan Rees for the 1987 murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan, who had been examining police corruption. Hilliard acknowledged the police could not be relied upon to ensure access to documents that the defence might require and the prosecution was fatally undermined as a result and Rees was discharged.
Judicial career.
Hilliard was appointed a Senior Circuit Judge in 2012, making him the Resident Judge on the South Eastern Circuit, based at Woolwich Crown Court. He was subsequently appointed Common Serjeant of London then Recorder of London before advancement as a judge of the High Court of Justice in November 2019.
Sir Nicholas has been a contributing editor to "Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice" since 1994.
References.
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