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

Table 7: Sources of training and updating mentioned by district judges interviewed
Type of training/updating Number of judges using this source
(n= 26)
JSB Triennial refresher training 24
Law reports, journals and other websites 13
Felix 11
CD-ROM on housing possession cases 11
JSB website and Civil Bench Book 6
Other JSB seminars (e.g. on ASBOs and
demoted tenancies)
6
The views of the district judges we interviewed about these different sources of training and
updating varied considerably. Generally speaking, the longer a judge had been sitting, the
less likely they were to make use of web-based material and the less enthusiasm they
showed for refresher training. Some experienced district judges may feel that further training
is unnecessary; for example:
“I receive the training that is administered to me. I go in for a de-coke regularly.”
(DJ B)
However, most of the district judges interviewed felt that the training provided was useful, if
limited:
“The job lacks training overall, quite frankly. It’s, in my view, the training that we
receive is very often euphemistic. You know, you can get a day...for something
completely new.” (DJ G)
There was also a range of opinions about the difficulty involved in this area of law. One
district judge described it as “a technical area” and was concerned that some judges might
not “understand about notices and things, and actually make the wrong decisions, possibly”
(DJ H). At the other end of this range of views, two other district judges felt that: “It’s easy to
keep yourself up to date. It’s not an obscure area at all.” (DJ L); and that: “I can’t imagine
housing possessions produce any problems at all” (DJ T).
Although there were considerable variations in attitudes to training and updating, it was not
possible to see that these views affected in any way the pattern of different outcomes
suggested by district judges to the scenarios that were put to them in the interviews.
Judges’ views on consistency and difference
Most of the judges interviewed considered that consistency – both within one court and
across courts – was important. However, their views varied as to whether it was achievable,
or had already been achieved, one view being that: “It’s never occurred to me there could be
any inconsistency in possession proceedings” (DJ T). Most of the district judges interviewed
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