Am I Ready - Suitability

Is a judicial role for me? Am I ready?

This part of the tool should provide you with an insight into the role of a judge, as well as an indication of your readiness to apply– it will not guarantee success in a JAC selection exercise, and is not designed as a psychometric tool to measure your prospects for success. Please answer the questions honestly and to the best of your ability, so that the result provided to you is more meaningful. This tool is completely confidential and can be re-taken as many times as you wish. It should take you no longer than 15 minutes to complete. You will need to answer all of the questions to receive a complete response.

Question Title

* 1. At the start of the hearing you notice that one of the representatives is someone with whom you had a casual friendship ten years ago. What do you do?

Carry on and say nothing

Withdraw from the case

Declare the connection and ask the parties if they have any objection to you continuing

Discuss it with the individual with whom you had the relationship, and agree the way forward

Question Title

* 2. You are hearing a case involving a litigant in person. After explaining the proceedings to the parties, you suspect that the litigant in person does not understand the terminology used. What do you do?

Nothing

Ask the legal representative for the other party to help the litigant in person understand

Wait until a break in proceedings and then speak to the litigant in person privately

Explain the proceedings again using non-technical language, making sure that all parties understand.

Question Title

* 3. A party appears before you and doesn’t seem to show any interest in the proceedings; not responding appropriately to questions and gazing around the room- yet the evidence points in his favour. What do you do?

Ask him questions to satisfy yourself whether or not he has litigation capacity

Warn him that he may affect his chances of success in the case if he does not behave more appropriately

Make your decision in favour of the aforementioned party, based on the available evidence

Adjourn the case without asking further questions to assess his litigation capacity

Question Title

* 4. During a hearing you observe that one of the parties does not speak English fluently, and you are having difficulty understanding what she is saying. What do you do?

Ask others in the room if they are having any difficulty understanding her

Let matters proceed, and assume others are not having any difficulty understanding her

Note what you can from the limited amount you can understand, and make a decision based on that

Stop proceedings and establish whether the individual has sufficient English language skills to proceed without an interpreter

Question Title

* 5. You are sitting with a list of 10 cases to hear that day. What would you do if a party (who had been served with adequate notice of the hearing) arrived significantly late, but while his hearing was still in progress?

Acknowledge his arrival and carry on with the hearing

Seek reasons for his lateness before proceeding

Adjourn the hearing

Chastise him in open court for his late attendance

Question Title

* 6. During the hearing you have noticed that one of the parties’ representatives has been repeatedly disruptive, taking calls on his phone and acting discourteously to others at the hearing. What do you do?

Ignore his actions

Halt the proceedings and ask the representative to explain himself

Pass a note to the representative asking him to stop behaving in this way

Confiscate the representative’s phone

Question Title

* 7. In a Personal Independence Payments appeal case, you are faced with an appellant who has suffered significant hardship, having lost her family in tragic circumstances in the last year. In her statement to the tribunal she has indicated that she may lose her home if the tribunal does not decide in her favour today. The tribunal rules state that you should not take these factors into account in coming to your decision. Based on the facts it is likely that she would not be eligible for the highest level of benefit award that she has claimed, and in fact may not be eligible for any benefit at all. What do you do?

Follow the legislation and the evidence to decide the case, taking no account of her tragic personal circumstances

Take the loss of her family into account in making your decision

Follow the legislation and the evidence to decide the case, then sign post her to the appropriate service to access welfare benefit advice

Adjourn the case as you do not feel comfortable making a decision in these circumstances

Question Title

* 8. How would you ensure that all others in the hearing (including unrepresented parties) understand technical legal matters that come easily to you?

Ensure technical matters are clearly summarised and explained at the end of the hearing

Avoid the use of technical language whenever possible

Regularly check for understanding when discussing technical matters

Do nothing

Question Title

* 9. In a hearing, one of the parties starts to give his evidence and explains vociferously and at length how he feels he has been mistreated by the justice system. His tirade continues and as time passes you consider the best way to deal with this. What do you do?

Do nothing – give him whatever time he needs to ‘blow off steam’

Tell him to react more calmly

Dismiss the case and find against the party based on his behaviour

Acknowledge the grievance, but ask him to stay calm and stick to the facts

Question Title

* 10. What would you do if one of your judgments was publicly challenged or heavily criticised?

Nothing

Publicly defend your judgment

Seek advice from judicial office (Judicial HR)

Seek appropriate training

Resign

Question Title

* 11. During the course of a tribunal hearing, you reach the point when you have arrived at your decision and are considering your next steps. Based on the behaviour of the unrepresented appellant during the hearing you are concerned that he may react badly to your decision and that this may threaten the personal safety of you and the other tribunal members. There are no security personnel on the premises. What do you do?

Go ahead and give your decision to the parties

Announce that your written decision will be given later

Give your decision but insist that the appellant is not in the room

Call the parties back at a later date to give your decision orally

Question Title

* 12. The applicant enters the hearing room wearing dark sunglasses and makes no effort to remove them. You are concerned that it may affect your ability to assess his credibility. What do you do?

Tell him to take them off

Tell him to take them off when giving his evidence

Enquire if there is a reason why he is wearing sunglasses

Do nothing

Question Title

* 13. Rules provide that documents for the hearing must be served seven days in advance. The applicant says, and you accept, that the respondent’s bundle of 405 pages was served that morning when the case was listed. The applicant has not seen the documents in advance and neither has the court. It is obvious that the applicant’s case does not have any chance of success. What do you do?

Go ahead anyway

Adjourn for 30 minutes

Adjourn to another date

Ask the applicant how long he wants to consider the respondent’s bundle