The exercise of judicial discretion in rent arrears cases - Sheffield ...

The length of time the arrears
have accrued over
The order requested by the
landlord
Whether the landlord has
reached an agreement with the
tenant
Any other matters you wish to
add
After completion by individuals establish whether consensus on rankings, and also ask
for one illustration per heading to be shared with group
3. Differences between judges 30 minutes
Ask individual participants to complete the following task. Suggest that they use initials
next to the judge to remind themselves who they were referring to.
Describe the relationship(s) you have with different judges. What factors differentiate the
relationships you have with different judges?
On a continuum of 1 (rule bound) – 10 (use most discretion) describe how far you feel
the different judges you appear in front of are rule bound as opposed to using a lot of
discretion to treat cases differently. E.g. how far do judges have rules of thumb they
always apply e.g. to repayment levels, or look at the facts for each individual?
Judge 1
Judge 2
Judge 3
Judge 4
Judge 5
1
Rule Max
Bound Discretion
Give examples for why you have you have ascribed different rankings to different judges.
Once done individually ask each participant to take one judge, the ranking and describe why
they have given it.
What has been your experience of judges’ reactions to new people appearing in front of
them?
4. Differences between courts 20 mins
If you work in more than one court, can you describe the differences between those
courts?
119
10