BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRO-BRITISH " JUDGE BARBARA MENSAH " IS A CROWN COURT JUDGE WHO BECAME THE FIRST CIRCUIT JUDGE OF AFRICAN DESCENT : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

                                    BLACK              SOCIAL            HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Barbara Mensah, who sits at Luton Crown Court, became the first Circuit Judge of African origin when she was appointed to the South Eastern Circuit in December 2005. She was called to the Bar (Lincoln’s Inn) in 1984 and was appointed as a Recorder in 2003. Born in Ghana, she came to school in England, aged six. She studied philosophy at the University of Wales in Swansea before training to be a barrister. She also worked in the private sector and joined the Judiciary after sitting on a Financial Services Tribunal. Barbara in an interview said: “Go down any High Street now and you see such a diverse population. And when people appear in court either as witnesses or as defendants or as litigants, they want to see that reflected in the bench as well.”