Barrister fined for drinking during trial break
A barrister in Britain who drank alcohol during a break in a criminal trial has been fined £3,000 by the Bar Tribunals & Adjudication Service.
Dominic Charles D’Souza, called to the bar in November 1993, was representing a client at Snaresbrook Crown Court in March 2023.
During a break, shortly before the trial resumed, D’Souza consumed alcohol while seated in his car in the court car park.
What he drank was not disclosed, the England and Wales Gazette reports.
When a report was made to the judge about D’Souza’s behaviour, he withdrew from the case, the jury was discharged and a new trial date was fixed.
Admitted charges
D’Souza admitted all three charges against him.
He was found by the three-person panel to have behaved in way that was likely to diminish the trust and confidence the public places in him or in the profession and/or behaved in a way that foreseeably interfered with the administration of justice and/or wasted the time of the court.
He was fined £1,000 on each charge and ordered to pay £2,670 costs.
The tribunal’s findings and its sanction are open to appeal.