Johannah Cutts

The Honourable
Johannah Cutts
High Court Judge
King's Bench Division
Incumbent
Assumed office
2018–present
MonarchsElizabeth II
Charles III
Personal details
Born (1964-01-13) 13 January 1964
Taplow, Buckinghamshire, England
Alma materThe Chelmer Institute

Dame Johannah Cutts DBE, styled Ms Justice Cutts, is a British High Court Judge.[1]

Early life and education

Johannah Cutts was born in Taplow, Buckinghamshire on 13 January 1964.[2] She was educated at St Helen and St Katharine's School in Abingdon-on-Thames and read Law at Anglia Ruskin University (formerly known as The Chelmer Institute).[3][2][1][4]

Cutts was called to the Bar by Inner Temple in 1986 and practised at the London-based Foundry Chambers,[5] formerly known as 9-12 Bell Yard.[6][7] She specialised in criminal law, with a particular interest in cases involving vulnerable persons. While practising, Cutts developed best practices and procedures in the handling of serious sexual assault cases involving young or vulnerable victims.[1] In 2005 she contributed to the 5th edition of Rook and Ward on Sexual Offences.[2]

Cutts was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2008.[8][9] She was appointed a Recorder in 2002,[10] and later a Circuit Judge in 2011, sitting at Aylesbury and Reading Crown Courts.[1][11]

In 2014 Cutts was appointed a Deputy High Court Judge and in October 2018 she became a Justice of the High Court and assigned to the King's Bench Division.[12][13] Upon appointment to the High Court in 2018 she received the customary damehood (DBE) from Queen Elizabeth II.[14][2]

Notable cases

In December 2015, Cutts presided over a case involving Child Sexual Abuse. Despite the accused admitting to all 22 charges, including being in possession of 13,000 indecent images of children, Cutts sentenced the accused to a 3 year community order with no prison time. The abuser remains free.[15]

In April and May 2023, Cutts presided over the trial of Timothy Schofield, brother of TV presenter Phillip Schofield, on charges of sexual offences involving a minor, imposing a sentence of 12 years imprisonment.[16] She also presided over the 2023 trial of Darren Osment, for the murder of his former partner Claire Holland in June 2012.[17]

In March 2025 Cutts presided over the trial of Nasen Saadi, who was sentenced to a minimum of 39 years for the murder of Amie Gray and attempted murder of Leanne Miles, on Durley Chine beach, in Bournemouth in May 2025.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "High Court Judges 2018 | Judicial Appointments Commission". 21 September 2020. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Cutts, Hon. Dame Johannah, (born 13 January 1964), a Judge of the High Court, Queen's Bench Division, since 2018; Presiding Judge, Western Circuit, since 2021". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U246763. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 21 September 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link)
  3. ↑ "Our history - ARU". aru.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  4. ↑ July 2018, Joshua Rozenberg16. "Filling the judicial void". Law Gazette. Retrieved 14 September 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ↑ "ABOUT US". foundrychambers.com. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  6. ↑ "Profile". thelawpages.com. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  7. ↑ FCsewAmi9bell (11 July 2018). "Congratulations HHJ Cutts QC". foundrychambers.com. Retrieved 23 September 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ "Five lawyers including two solicitors appointed High Court judges". Local Government Lawyer. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  9. ↑ "Notice of appointments". Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  10. ↑ "Crown Office". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  11. ↑ "Warrants Under the Royal Sign Manual". thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  12. ↑ "Crown Office | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  13. ↑ "Judicial appointments: 31 August 2018". The Times. 31 August 2018. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  14. ↑ "Third woman for Supreme Court". Counsel Magazine. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  15. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/oct/05/woman-an-unknowing-victim-of-assault-at-12-speaks-out. Retrieved 18 April 2026. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ↑ "Phillip Schofield's brother Timothy jailed for child abuse". May 19, 2023 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  17. ↑ "Claire Holland: Darren Osment jailed for life for murder of missing ex-partner". BBC News. 20 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  18. ↑ "Bournemouth murder: Amie Gray's killer 'had a rage against women'". BBC News. March 28, 2025.
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