Barrister penalised for Kaul ‘disrespect’
TRIBUNAL: LAWYER IGNORED JUDGE’S REASONED REQUESTS
A BARRISTER has been fined and suspended for her “rude and unprofessional” behaviour towards crown court judge Kaly Kaul QC.
Jacqueline Vallejo, a criminal law specialist, was described as being “uncontrollable” and creating a “toxic environment” in court.
The 50-year-old was fined £2,000 and suspended for four months.
The incidents took place during a trial at Snaresbrook crown court in London during February and March 2016.
A bar tribunal hearing concluded that Vallejo’s unacceptable behaviour was “persistent over a period of time” and often occurred in front of the jury.
She was “disrespectful” and “unduly argumentative” by talking over and interrupting Kaul.
The court heard audio recordings of on one occasion when Vallejo described Kaul’s summary of evidence as “absolute rubbish”.
In another instance, she told the judge, “don’t try to make me sound like an idiot”.
Vallejo’s “unhelpful tone” towards Kaul was sustained throughout the trial.
She often referred to the judge as “learned Friend” – a term used for barristers – instead of “Your Honour”.
When the judge asked for clarification on a witness statement, Vallejo replied, in front of jurors, “Well, if Your Honour wants to conduct the cross-examination, I’ll sit down.”
The panel heard how Vallejo, who was called to the Bar in 1997, undermined Kaul by asking her, “Is Your Honour giving evidence?”
When Kaul eventually warned Vallejo about her behaviour, she replied, “If Your Honour wants to do anything about me and my conduct, that’s fine. I would rather you do it sooner rather than later, though.”
The disciplinary tribunal noted the “misconduct occurred” despite the judge making requests for it to stop.
“It is quite clear to us that the learned judge, in a reasoned and balanced manner, regularly asked Miss Vallejo to control what she was saying in court,” the tribunal said.
“But Miss Vallejo, for whatever reasons, ignored those requests and instead carried on.
“She (Vallejo) failed to observe her duty to the court in the administration of justice in that she behaved in a rude and unprofessional manner.”
At the tribunal, Vallejo’s representative, Ali Naseem Bajwa QC, said his client had been having health issues and regretted her actions.
A Bar Standards Board (BSB) spokesperson said: “Hearings can often be stressful and challenging and barristers must be able to defend their clients robustly. However, the conduct of the barrister in this case went beyond robustness and interfered with the administration of justice.
“The seriousness of this behaviour is reflected in the tribunal’s sanction of suspension from practice.”
Vallejo, who represents Garden Court Chambers, worked on the ‘Salsa Spy’ case, where an army translator and salsa dance teacher who worked for the head of Nato forces in Afghanistan was found guilty of spying for Iran in 2008.
However, this is not the first time that one of the barristers from Garden Court Chambers has been reprimanded for their behaviour towards Kaul.
In 2020, Marguerite Russell, a barrister since 1972 and one of the founders of Garden Court, was reprimanded and fined £1,000 for also acting in a “rude and unprofessional manner” towards Kaul at Snaresbrook crown court.
Russell had said, “this is ridiculous”, in reply to Kaul’s summary of evidence from a witness.
She was found guilty of “pulling faces at the judge and/or acting in a manner that led to her being told to sit down”.