Nichole Warren successfully appeals a flawed disciplinary hearing

SL5's Nichole Warren recently pursued an appeal to the Chief Magistrates on behalf of one of her clients. Her client had been sentenced to 35 additional days following an independent adjudication hearing before a District Judge. The Chief Magistrate found that significant procedural failures by the prison resulted in a breach of natural justice and ordered that the additional days be removed from her client’s sentence.

Nichole’s involvement began several weeks before the hearing, with a request to the prison for details of the charge and hearing. Over the following fortnight, multiple emails were sent seeking confirmation of the date, time and videolink joining instructions to ensure that Nichole could represent her client. Although some documents were eventually shared, the essential information required for her to actually attend the hearing to represent her client was not provided.

On the day of the hearing, following another attempt to obtain the access information, Nichole was informed that the hearing had already taken place. The Judge proceeded with the hearing in Nichole’s absence, relying on the prison’s claim that the client had not submitted a legal attendance form. This ignored the clear and substantial evidence that legal representation had been arranged well in advance.

Nichole’s formal complaint and appeal argued that the hearing had been procedurally flawed and that her client had been denied a fair opportunity to be represented. The Chief Magistrate agreed, finding that the prison had failed to inform the adjudicator that her client had legal representation. As a result, the Chief Magistrate found that the adjudicator proceeded under a false impression and without the benefit of submissions from the legal team.

In their decision, the Chief Magistrate described the appeal as "compelling evidentially" and the procedural failings as "irrefutable". They concluded that, had the adjudicator known legal representation had been arranged, the hearing would not have gone ahead in the same way. The adjudication was quashed and the 35 added days were rescinded in full.

This outcome illustrates Nichole’s resolute commitment to procedural fairness and reinforces the importance of the right to legal representation in disciplinary proceedings.