# James Miskin > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/James_Miskin > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/James_Miskin.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Miskin > Source revision: 1347988082 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Sir James William Miskin**, (11 March 1925 – 21 November 1993) was a British [barrister](/source/Barrister) and judge. He served as [Recorder of London](/source/Recorder_of_London), the senior judge at the Central Criminal Court [Old Bailey](/source/Old_Bailey), from 1975 to 1990.[1] ## Early life James William Miskin was born in [Hong Kong](/source/Hong_Kong) on 11 March 1925, the son of Geoffrey Miskin, general manager of the [Hongkong and Shanghai Bank](/source/The_Hongkong_and_Shanghai_Banking_Corporation). Returning to England, he was educated at [Haileybury School](/source/Haileybury_and_Imperial_Service_College) in [Hertfordshire](/source/Hertfordshire). He served in the [Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve](/source/Royal_Naval_Reserve) between 1943 and 1946, before going to [Brasenose College, Oxford](/source/Brasenose_College,_Oxford), graduating in 1949.[2] In 1951 he married Mollie Joan Milne, they having two sons and two daughters. The couple later divorced, and in 1980 Miskin married Sheila Joan Collett.[3] ## Career Miskin was [called to bar](/source/Call_to_the_bar) in 1951 and developed a [common law](/source/Common_law) practice, principally in family and medical negligence work, being appointed [Queen's Counsel](/source/Queen's_Counsel) (QC) in 1967.[1] In 1971 he succeeded [Desmond Ackner](/source/Desmond_Ackner,_Baron_Ackner) as counsel for the victims of the [thalidomide](/source/Thalidomide) drug in their long-running action against [Distillers](/source/Distillers_Company), finally settled out of court.[2] A member of the [Inner Temple](/source/Inner_Temple), Miskin served as a member of the [Bar Council](/source/General_Council_of_the_Bar) 1964–67 and 1970–73, was leader of South East Circuit 1974–75 and became a [Bencher](/source/Bencher) in 1976.[3] Although his practice was mainly civil, as his career progressed he held a number part-time judicial appointments in the criminal courts, including Deputy Chairman of the Hertfordshire [Quarter Sessions](/source/Court_of_quarter_sessions) 1968–71 and [Recorder of the Crown Court](/source/Recorder_(judge)#Recorders_as_part-time_appointments) 1972–75. In addition, between 1972–75, he acted as chairman of the [London School of Economics](/source/London_School_of_Economics) board of discipline and was Appeals Steward of the [British Boxing Board of Control](/source/British_Boxing_Board_of_Control).[3] In 1975 Miskin was appointed Recorder of London, the [senior judge](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Chief_judge) at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, a post that tries many of England's most serious criminal cases. As second citizen of the [City of London](/source/City_of_London) after the [Lord Mayor](/source/Lord_Mayor_of_London), the role also involves a number of ceremonial and administrative functions.[2] In his first years as Recorder, Miskin was generally well thought of as a judge, being seen as fair minded as well as courteous, kind and helpful to advocates.[4] He was often outspoken, expressing views on justice issues including prison funding, raising the minimum age for jurors and re-introduction of capital punishment for premeditated murder. However, as ill-health overtook him in his later years as a judge, his personality and judicial performance deteriorated.[2] His sentencing became more erratic and he publicly used ethnic slurs including, at a [Mansion House](/source/Mansion_House,_London) dinner, referring to ['nig-nogs'](/source/List_of_ethnic_slurs) and 'murderous Sikhs'. Shortly before his retirement, he cast doubt upon the innocence of the [Guildford four](/source/Guildford_Four_and_Maguire_Seven) after their conviction was quashed.[4] This behaviour was subsequently attributed to the early onset of [Alzheimer's disease](/source/Alzheimer's_disease).[2] Miskin retired in 1990, and died at his home in [Horsham](/source/Horsham), Sussex on 21 November 1993 aged 68[1] from Alzheimer's disease.[4] For many years Miskin was a [lieutenant](/source/Deputy_lieutenant) of the [City of London](/source/City_of_London)[5] and was [knighted](/source/Knight_Bachelor) in the [1983 Birthday Honours](/source/1983_Birthday_Honours) list.[6] ## References 1. "Obituary: His Honour Sir James Miskin". *[The Times](/source/The_Times)*. 24 November 1993. 1. Samuels, Alec (2004). *[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography](/source/Dictionary_of_National_Biography#Oxford_Dictionary_of_National_Biography): Miskin, Sir James William*. Oxford University Press. ISBN 019861411X. 1. *Who Was Who 1991–1995*. A & C Black, London. 1996. ISBN 0-7136-4496-6. 1. Morton, James (20 December 1993). ["Obituary: Sir James Miskin"](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-sir-james-miskin-1468603.html). *[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)*. Retrieved 28 May 2021. 1. No. 48039. 27 December 1979. p. 16265. 1. No. 49375. 10 June 1983. p. 2. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [James Miskin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Miskin) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Miskin?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.