A magistrate has been disciplined after he took a knife in his bag to court.
Agboola Obanubi, who sits at courts in South Essex, faced misconduct proceedings over the incident which happened when he turned up to court for a training day.
A “camping-style folding knife” was found in a compartment of his bag as he passed through the court’s security checks at the front entrance, the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) said.
Mr Obanubi was given formal advice for misconduct.
The JCIO said, in a public notice about the misconduct proceedings: “Mr Obanubi accepted that he attended court with a knife in his bag, which he said he had unknowingly left there following a recent camping trip.
“Mr Obanubi acknowledged the seriousness of the incident and has taken steps to ensure that it does not happen again.”
The JCIO said he had fallen foul of a conduct rule governing “respect for the law and observance of the law”, and failed to “maintain the dignity, standing and good reputation of the magistracy at all times”.
It said: “Mr Obanubi had entered a court building to attend training, and on passing through security, a camping-style folding knife was found in a compartment of his bag.”
He was put through fast-track misconduct proceedings after accepting wrongdoing.
A senior judge, on behalf of the Lady Chief Justice and the Lord Chancellor, issued Mr Obanubi with formal advice after taking into consideration that he is a recently-appointed magistrate, has no other misconduct findings against him, cooperated fully with court security, and took responsibility for the mistake.
“He had demonstrated insight into the seriousness of the matter, and had taken practical steps to prevent recurrence,” the JCIO added.
Judicial misconduct hearings take place in private, and the JCIO did not say in its note when or where the incident happened.
