discriminated by judge

[be96erj]

I attended a small claims hearing and I was extremely anxious.

I also suffer from ADHD with exasperates the anxiety by x10.

 

I told the court usher about my adhd and asked for it to be passed onto the judge for his info (also so that if he does not know what adhd is, he can google it).

 

After about 3 hours of waiting, I finally went in.

I was trembling with the stress of waiting all that time!

 

I asked the judge if we could speak alone for a moment as I wanted to discuss a private matter

(I wanted to explain my ADHD had turned me into a quivering wreck and why that was so that he could account for it).

 

To this the judge refused to speak to me and then blasted me for wasting the court's time!

He said I should say openly in the room what my personal issue was!

 

I am registered disabled because of my mental health and I could not believe the way the judge was treating me.

I did not feel it appropriate to explain my disability in front of the other prty- which is my right!

As a result, I was unable to articulate my case and I lost ( almost £4k).

 

Does anyone know what I can do and if it is worth appealing based on the judge discriminating against me based on my disability/ adhd?

Edited March 19, 2018 by dx100uk
spacing

[BazzaS]

Had the judge spoken to you in private, the other side could claim they hadn’t been treated fairly had they lost. They’d say that the judge was influenced by you (be that a bribe, the Mason’s, or whatever).

 

So I can see how the judge felt obliged to refuse to speak with you privately.

You could / should have:

a) informed the Court well in advance,

b) had a professional advocate or

c) sought permission for a friend to speak on your behalf.

 

You failing to address the risk to your case (from your mental health problem) well in advance was the cause of your woes. That isn’t the same as being discriminated against.

[be96erj]

I'm not sure you are right.

Its not that straight forward.

I was not asking for the judge to speak to me in a separate room, only that he speaks to me in the hearing room, that would have had recording equipment

- I thought that was pretty self explanatory (on the part of the judge).

 

With my adhd, all I wanted was an opportunity to explain that I was extremely anxious.

Nothing else!

[BazzaS]

I'm not sure you are right. Its not that straight forward. I was not asking for the judge to speak to me in a separate room, only that he speaks to me in the hearing room, that would have had recording equipment- I thought that was pretty self explanatory (on the part of the judge).

 

With my adhd, all I wanted was an opportunity to explain that I was extremely anxious. Nothing else!

 

Your own words were “speak alone” and “private”.

Anyway, I asked the judge if we could speak alone for a moment, as I wanted to discuss a private matter

 

That could have given the appearance of impropriety, so I’m still not surprised they refused.

 

Again, you had options available had you arranged them in advance. You didn’t.

The court has the obligation to make “reasonable adjustments”, and part of “reasonable” is:

a) proportionate cost (since the Jackson reforms)

b) proportionate impact on justice for all (not just justice in one case) (since the Woolf reforms), and

c) being able to plan for those adjustments in advance.

 

You asking for different treatment on the day and not getting what you wanted isn’t discrimination.

 

I'm not sure you are right. Its not that straight forward

 

Well, it looks like the judge and I both have it wrong!

What should they have done that was;

a) proportionate, given no notice well in advance, that

b) avoids the appearance of impropriety?

[dx100uk]

you should have written before hand

 

which of you existing threads is this to do with?

[mariner51]

You could complain about Judge's behaviour, at your own cost/risk; but IMO the Judge behaved fairly for all Parties and did not did discriminate against you.

[king12345]

No trying to be awkward, but what stopped you informing the judge of your disability in front of the other party?

It's not something to be ashamed of.

Too late now, but in future don't hold back.

If you tell people that you have a disability affecting your ability to express yourself in stressful situations, most people would try to reassure you and let you take your time to explain.

Most humans are not monsters.

[Old Cogger]

why did you not get a representation by a solicitors or another as there are organisation out there who would assist in certain health cases??? Question!?????

 

Have never seen or heard of a Judge be left alone with a defendant or even in court allow a defendant to approach, only a solicitor!