Why will he have to sell his shares in planes? His salary is £123,000 according to the Department of Constitutional Affairs.
If he's already paid for the purchase of the planes, its hardly likely to set him back more than a few thousand a year for his hobby.
The only thing he wouldn't be able to do is update his plane or car collection, but one assumes that a successful barrister has enough put by for a rainy day. The only reason to sell his cars is to avoid being regarded as a "Mr Toad" by certain magistrates.... (and thus possibly shorten his career)
Maybe he's helping to replenish the ranks after what happened to Judge Andrew Chubb
More like £120k I read. You don't run a helicopter or a vintage high-performance areoplane on that kind of money. The point that i was making is that like many before him HHJTO is almost certainly taking a big drop in income to become a judge. I wasn't suggesting that he got rid of his cars, merely that he will have to eschew the joy of driving them fast.
The cost of maintaining a vintage aircraft is not excessive; the initial cost of purchasing one or a full-rebuild from scrap is what keeps the riff-raff out. e.g. A P-51D Mustang goes for about $1-2 million, and they're getting rarer as they're modified for performance racing and have accidents.
From here it looks like he has a share in a Yak-11, which is a (just) post-war Russian trainer, not a high performance fighter like a P51 Mustang. Initial purchase price of a Yak-11 appears to be about £150-200k. Even running costs of a P-51 Mustang are not high. The maintenance is apparently more a need to know a good machine shop than expensive.
Gazelle costs about £150K, there seem to be problems getting a full certificate to fly with passengers with ex-military versions. Again, provided it was in good condition to start off with, maintenance costs between 3 or 4 people will be no more than a weeks salary a year. Flying costs are probably about £150/hour. Syndicated purchase seems to start at about £10,000 per person.
After receiving a successful barristers income for a few years. I'm sure the judges income will keep up his flying hours and provide him with enough beer tokens.
How refreshing.
Actually, £120 is more than enough if, as you say, he owns a share in each aircraft rather than owning them outright. After all, the whole point of such schemes is to make them affordable, given enough partners. Glad to hear too, that he occasionally trumps the Campaign Against Aviation, who, despite stiff competition, consistently rates as one of the very worst government departments. As for fast cars and fast driving - good luck to him.
Oh great, yet another commercial lawyer (with bugger all experience of the criminal courts or criminal law) come along to tell us all that we're doing things wrong and that its the defence lawyers fault when a trial is delayed (regardless of the fact that the CPS have forgotten to serve any evidence/instruct Counsel)!!!
I know this might sound radical, but why not give him a nice seat on the bench of the admiralty court? Or maybe send him to do some work in the commercial court?
I can imagine the reaction if I, as a criminal lawyer, applied to a judgeship on the Chancery bench!!!
Barristers become judges, despite the pay cut, because a) they are reaching the time of life when they no longer want to be sucking up to solicitors or defendants and b) the judicial pension is exceptionally generous.
Nick
Sorry, Phatboy, way off-beam. He is an experienced criminal prosecutor and defender: see:-
http://www.9-12bellyard.com/barr...sp?
memberid=116
"The cost of maintaining a vintage aircraft is not excessive"
To whom? A Circuit Judge makes about the same as the head of a large secondary school. My main point is that our judges are not paid huge sums. I happen to know Tudor Owen, and I don't think that I need to open a hardship fund just yet.
Ah Tudor - I remember sharing a beer or two with him Bystander, 4 or 5 years ago at a pub down Fleet Street at a PPRUNE meet (www.pprune.org for anyone interested!). A very interesting, honest and nice chap, extremely well regarded within all of the aviation fraternity.
Thinking about vintage aircraft I imagine the 1st one I had a share in, a 1963 Cessna 150, could certainly be called vintage by now - although it is worth only about £12,000 - nowhere near the sum "real vintage aircraft" fetch nowadays.
Good luck to him!
'Tudor'?! What sort of monicker is that, I ask!
A Circuit Judge makes about the same as the head of a large secondary school.
Teacher pay scales
Judges Pay Scales
I assume he's a Circuit Judge (section 6.1) which places his salary at 122,000 (now) rising to 123,000 (next month) as originally quoted. Looking at the teachers pay scales, a super dooper top of the tree head teacher will get £98,000 (£104k if in Inner London). Even taxed at 40% Tudor can pay the running costs of his aircraft out of the difference (£12,000 after tax) between his salary and that of the head teacher and still have change. Since a Circuit Judge is (with no disrespect) at the bottom end of his profession, his pay will advance comfortably if he gets promoted. An A1 head has no further to go in his profession, so a comparison to a median head figure of about £50-60k is probably more reasonable. The salary levels aren't on the same planet.
A judge may not be paid a "huge" sum by barrister and city pay scales, but it will still put him in the top 2% of earners in the country. It may also interest you to know that a UK Judge earns about 50% more than his US equivalent ($130-$180k).
@Sandy: Henry VII through to Elizabeth I were "Tudor". I'm never sure with kings of England whether it is an actual surname or just a dynastic name.
Umm...a very fulsome introduction to a new judge, Bystander.
Are we to be treated to the same for every new appointee, or are you just looking for a jaunt in the Gazelle?!!
@Anonymous:
Bystander's just getting the fulsome praise in before he appears in the dock next month... :-)
It's not every day that someone I know is appointed to the Bench.
My lips are sealed though - we have an agreement that if I don't tell lies about him he won't tell the truth about me.
He's welsh.
So he must be OK.
If he's Welsh he can administer English Law but doesn't have to put up with them. Lucky beggar.
And, it doesn't cost much to maintain a light aircraft if you know the right people and flying a helicopter will kill you before the bills come in, anyway
Why is there a post about a recently appointed judge?
Ok he has an interest in aviation and fast cars - so what. Whilst the former is an infrequently cited interest, the latter interest is common to many a young twocker. Anyone who has studied criminal law and justice will be aware of the relationship between judicial minds and the sentenced.
You will of course note that much of the rhetoric suggests that the judiciary and of course Parliament is representative of a diverse society. Is this the start?
Bystander, please explain, for the avoidance of doubt.
Expensive taste in transport...member of the Garrick...uncommon name (nb, double barrel surnamed advocates)...wears pins. He is not far away from a crown court/high court judge stereotype!
Bystander should consider the following link:
http://
business.timesonline.co.u...icle2682096.ece
Here, here for The Honourable Mrs Justice Dobbs.
Good luck FL!
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