16 SOMERVILLE MAGAZINE
All Rise: A Conversation with Deborah Taylor Deborah Taylor (1980, Law) is a criminal law judge who sits at Southwark Crown Court. Alongside trying high-profile cases such as those of Julian Assange and Boris Becker, Deborah was recently elected Treasurer of the Inner Temple, where she advocates for greater diversity at the Bar. She was interviewed for the Somerville Magazine by current student Kristy Chan (2020, Law).
Did you also plan to specialise in criminal law? Actually, no. I did not practise in crime at the Bar, but had a common law/commercial practice including insurance and reinsurance. I swapped over to crime when I became a judge. Southwark does predominantly fraud and corruption cases, so my background in commercial law was really helpful. I’m very glad I’ve had the opportunity of doing both civil and criminal law. What would you say is the trickiest or most memorable case you’ve judged?
HHJ Deborah Taylor sits in Southwark Crown Court, the Administrative Court, High Court Queen’s Bench Division and Court of Appeal Criminal Division
Did you always plan to go to the Bar? Oh, yes. I was always very argumentative, so I thought the Bar would suit me better than being a solicitor. At Somerville, I was fortunate to be taught by Lady Fox and Anne de Moor, two excellent tutors who encouraged me. I was also very fortunate to be up with a similarly determined group, including my good friend Margaret Casely-Hayford (Chair of Shakespeare’s Globe and Honorary Fellow of Somerville).
I’ve done a number of cases which I think are quite memorable. But I suppose that the most extraordinary involved a Maoist cult in South London. The leader of the cult imprisoned his followers in a house in Brixton – including his daughter, from her birth to age 30, so she had never been outside in all that time. That’s an interesting case. It even has its own entry in Wikipedia. You tried cases throughout the pandemic using video conferencing platforms. Is that helpful when trying a case? I think it’s very good in some ways. It’s certainly made us realise which parts of a trial actually need people there. For example, case management before trial can be done remotely, because it involves procedural or legal arguments with no requirement for jury or defendants. During the trial is less simple.
