James Pickles (18 March 1925 – 18 December 2010)[1] was an English barrister and circuit judge and who later became a tabloid newspaper columnist.
His father's family were also involved in building and masonry: his great-grandfather worked on the construction of the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand in London.
[5] James' sister, Christina Pickles, is an actress, most famous for her role as a nurse in the hospital drama St.
His hand injury made him exempt from military service in the Second World War, and he read law at Leeds University and Christ Church, Oxford.
He came to public attention in 1985 when he wrote an article that was published in The Daily Telegraph criticising the Conservative government's policy of widening probation, insisting that imprisonment was necessary to deter offenders.
In early 1990, he imprisoned a 19-year-old single mother for six months on a charge of theft for letting her friends take goods from the shop at which she worked; the sentence was replaced by a period of probation on appeal.
In addition to tabloid journalism in The Sun and the Daily Sport, he also wrote several books, including two memoirs Straight from the Bench (1987) and Judge for Yourself (1992) and a novel Off the Record (1993).
"[citation needed] Pickles also appeared in an episode of Da Ali G Show, and the Channel 5 programme The People vs. Jerry Sadowitz.