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Judge Parry is the subject of a recent complaint to the Lord Chancellor's Dept, made via an MP, from a father involved in Children Act proceedings.
During the case Judge Parry wrote the letter, shown below, to a clerk at Guildford County Court. In this Judge Parry :
asks the clerk to show a letter from one party (the mother) to another judge who will hear the case; he asks that the letter be shown "in confidence" - presumably meant to mean that no one shall know about it - if acted upon this would have the effect that the court would accept evidence from one party without the other party's knowledge and hence without a right of reply;
asks that any further letters from the mother are also passed to him - please carefully note : without the father being able to respond;
refers to the matter of the complaint as bringing the words 'storm' and 'teacup' to mind, so trivialising a very serious matter for the father in the case.
This is the story behind the letter in the man's own words :
Subject : Probity of judges in the family court - long one!
Date: 21 April 1999 23:42
As promised, I am posting the following letter from Judge David Parry who sits at Guildford County court, as well as in Epsom and in the Kingston area.
Firstly, some background. I appeared before him in August 1997, represented by a solicitor. Mother, despite being very well off represented herself.
In the first 30 minutes of a day and a half, Parry sneered at the simple coloured calendar I had prepared showing proposed contact, holidays, family birthdays. He said they were 'incomprehensible'. I used calendar charts every day in my former job as a project manager. Neither I or anyone I worked with found them difficult to use.
He then went on to shock me by saying to my solicitor that he saw 'no need to discuss holidays with your client. He's unemployed, so I imagine that life must be one long holiday anyway'. He chuckled to himself mightily at his joke.
Later I informed him that since losing my job in 1992, due to suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and finding no knowledge of the disorder here I had gone to the States to be diagnosed. On my return I had founded a charity at my own expense for 2000 other sufferers for which I worked to 10 hours a day, seven days a week.
'Still looks as if you have time for a holiday', he observed wittily. It went down hill from there. His remarks came thick and fast. My ex-wife (we have three children who spend 65% of their time with me and we get on well) came as a witness on my behalf, and gave a damning statement about my ex-girlfriend. He told her that her comments were 'outrageous' because she felt that anyone who attempted to deprive a child of contact was selfish and would harm the child.
I complained about his personal conduct to my MP later. She wrote to Lord Irvine direct. Not surprisingly, he 'could not recall' making the comments I alleged. When I later received a copy of the judgement, it bore little resemblance to my notes taken at the time.
My MP said she'd need a letter from my solicitor confirming my version, which he gave, but she said was not detailed enough, and could not refer the case back to the LC. So I sent her a copy of the letter below, which she said she could not send because there was no evidence that he had done something wrong and I'd need to provide a legal opinion to say he had ! She knows I'm unemployed and could not afford this. Who better than the Lord Chancellor to give this opinion, I asked. Think she's been 'got at' ?
In the meantime, Mum and the court had been busy. As he had refused to order holiday contact, I had made an application for Christmas contact in the November. I learned that it had been directed he hear the matter. I objected due to my complaint to the LC. Somehow mother got to hear about this and for reasons I cannot fathom (ha!) decided to send him letters through the court with many derogatory and mainly untrue allegations about me. She also wrote a letter to him saying he was totally wonderful and had managed the case superbly, and I was, essentially, a shit.
My application for Xmas contact was dismissed by another judge on the flimsy grounds that 'it was too close to Christmas'. Note that Parry had asked that mother's derogatory letters be placed before whoever heard the case two days later. Draw your own conclusions.
I then learnt that other complaints had been made about Judge Parry to the Lord Chancellor. I wrote and asked for details. They had not been upheld.
Since then the case has been exclusively heard by Judge Cook. He has constantly refused to transfer the case to the High Court or anywhere else. When faced with the letter below last year, he just ordered that Parry should not hear the case 'for the present'.
Prior to this, my contact order was for two long weekends of 4 days staying contact a month (8 in total) which my child had enjoyed since she was only 8 months old. Mother had also been reprimanded by various judges for her attitude on many occasions.
Suddenly, for no reason, a social services investigation was ordered by the court. This concluded that contact in Wolverhampton, 150 miles from mother, was 'traumatising' my child. I learned from my daughter that her 'Uncle Dave' (mother's married lover aged 68 - she's 46 - had behaved appallingly. They recommended that contact be reduced to 6 hours visiting contact between 10 and 4 on the basis that if she did not see so much of me, she had less opportunity to make 'allegations' to me about anyone in her mum's home !
Thick or what.
Next time she came to my house, my daughter burst into tears telling me that the social worker had told her that she could not come to my house again or see her brothers or sister again. This was even before there was any application heard. I complained about the social worker and they immediately made an application for an interim supervision order to restrict her contact with me to 2 hours supervised contact a fortnight.
Corporate bullying of fathers rules. OK.
This is still on the anvil, but the Guardian ad Litem and social services then colluded in saying she showed disturbed behaviour after contact so it was chopped to the six hours twice monthly that mother wanted on an interim basis until the full hearing. This is scheduled for September - 15 MONTHS after the application was made. Wanna make a bet - that the interim order remains and staying contact never recurs.
Only a cynic would think there might be a link between the complaint about a judge and the subsequent problems in the case.
Transcript of Judge Parry's letter :
PRIVATE
Epsom County Court
2. 12. 1997
Mrs. K. Easterbrook [Clerk]
Guildford County Court
The Law Courts
Mary Road
Guildford, Surrey
Dear Mrs Easterbrook,
My thanks for your note enclosed with the letter from Mrs ------- of 23 Nov. 1997. Please continue to forward correspondence to me. I believe a further hearing is fixed for 4th December. In view of the complaint to the LCD, I indicated that it would be inappropriate for me to hear the matter at present. I enclose a copy of Mrs -------'s letter which should be shown to whoever hears the matter in confidence. I do not propose replying to the letter. I have forwarded a copy to the LCD to 'assist' the Lord Chancellor's reply to the MP who was 'encouraged' by Mr ----- to make a complaint about my conduct of the case. The words 'storm' and 'teacup' come to mind !
With best wishes
Yours sincerely
David Parry
Acknowledgement : an informer with inside information.
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