Sentencing Council members

The Right Honourable Lady Justice Juliet May, Chair

Juliet May was appointed as Chair of the Sentencing Council by the Lady Chief Justice, with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor and Deputy Prime Minister, with effect from 6 October 2025.  She was formerly a judicial member of the Sentencing Council from October 2020. 

Lady Justice May worked as a forensic clinical psychologist before re-training as a barrister. She was called to the Bar (Inner Temple) in 1988, becoming a bencher in 2010. Her practice was in commercial work, particularly banking and insurance, at 3VB. She became a recorder in 2001, a chair of Mental Health Tribunals in 2002 and took silk in 2008, being appointed to the Circuit Bench later the same year. From 2008 to 2015 she sat in crime at Wood Green and Southwark Crown Courts and in civil at Central London County Court.

She was appointed a deputy High Court Judge in 2013, appointed to the High Court Bench (Queen’s Bench Division) in December 2015 and elevated to the Court of Appeal in November 2025. She was the Senior Presiding Judge on the Western Circuit from 2017 to 2020 and appointed as Judicial Lead on Youth Justice for England and Wales in November 2022.

Juliet was appointed as a judicial member of the Sentencing Council on 8 October 2020 and as Chair on 6 October 2025. 

His Honour Judge Simon Drew KC

Simon Drew was called to the bar in 1987 and practiced criminal law from chambers in London and then in Birmingham. He was appointed as a Recorder of the Crown Court in 2005 and took silk in 2011. He was appointed as a Circuit Judge in 2012, sitting in crime, based in Birmingham Crown Court. In 2015 he was authorised to try murders and, in 2020, was authorised to sit in the Family Court. In 2022 he was appointed to sit as a Circuit Judge sitting in the Court of Appeal Criminal Division.

Simon has been a Judicial College criminal Course Director since 2015 and, in 2022, was appointed as the lead criminal Continuation Course Director.

Simon was appointed a judicial member of the Sentencing Council on 12 June 2023. He was reappointed for a second tenure and will be on the council until June 2029.

The Right Honourable Lord Justice Andrew Edis

Lord Justice Andrew Edis was called to the bar in 1980 and practised on the Northern Circuit from chambers in Liverpool, taking silk in 1997. He became Senior Treasury Counsel at the Central Criminal Court in 2008, prosecuting and defending serious criminal cases throughout his 17 years in silk.

Lord Justice Edis’s judicial career began in 1994 when he was appointed Assistant Recorder, progressing to Recorder in 1999 and Deputy High Court Judge in 2001. He was appointed High Court Judge in 2014 and elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2021.

Between 2018-2020 he served as a presiding judge on the South Eastern Circuit. In 2021 he was appointed Deputy Senior Presiding Judge, becoming Senior Presiding Judge from 2022-24. He became Vice President of the Court of Appeal Criminal Division on 1 August 2025 and was appointed Deputy Head of Criminal Justice from 1 October 2026.

Andrew was appointed Vice Chairman of the Sentencing Council on 1 August 2025.

Tim De Meyer  

Tim De Meyer has 29 years of policing experience across a range of operational and strategic roles. He has served in the Metropolitan Police and Thames Valley Police, and in 2023 he was appointed Chief Constable of Surrey Police. Since 2019, Tim has held the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) portfolio lead for Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act Disclosure, contributing to national policy and practice through the Criminal Justice Coordination Committee. 

Tim was initially appointed as a member of the Sentencing Council on 27 January 2026. On 1 October 2026, he was re-appointed for a further three-year period until 30 September 2029.

The Honourable Mr Justice Garnham   

Mr Justice Neil Garnham was called to the bar by Middle Temple in 1982 and practised from chambers in London. He was a junior counsel to the Crown from 1995 to 2001 and took silk in 2001.  

He was appointed Assistant Recorder in 1999, Recorder in 1999 and Deputy High Court Judge in 2008. He was appointed a High Court Judge in 2015. Between 2019-2022 he served as a presiding judge on the Western Circuit.  

Neil was made a member of the Sentencing Council on 3 March 2026. 

Professor Jessica Jacobson  

Jessica Jacobson is Professor of Criminal Justice at Birkbeck, University of London.  

Jessica completed her PhD at the London School of Economics in 1996, in the sociology of religion and ethnicity. She subsequently developed her expertise in justice research, initially as a Home Office researcher, and later as an independent researcher and policy consultant. She has been based at Birkbeck since 2011, and for 11 years was Director of Birkbeck’s Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research.  

Her research and publications span many aspects of the justice system, including prisons and policing. She has conducted extensive studies of sentence decision-making and public attitudes to sentencing and has a particular interest in lay participation in courts and tribunals. She recently led a substantial policy and research project, Voicing Loss, on the role of bereaved people in coroners’ investigations and inquests.  

Jessica was appointed as the academic member of the Sentencing Council on 2 March 2026.  

Rokaiya Khan 

Rokaiya Khan is Chief Executive of Together Women, a leading charity supporting women and girls across Yorkshire and the Humber. She has over 30 years’ experience in the voluntary and criminal justice sectors, with a strong focus on prevention, rehabilitation, and gender responsive services.  

Rokaiya is a recognised national leader in women’s justice. She has played a key role in advising government and ministers on policy and reform, particularly in relation to reducing the use of custody for women and strengthening community-based alternatives.  

She co-founded the National Women’s Justice Coalition and has been instrumental in shaping cross sector collaboration to influence national policy and practice. She has secured significant investment for women’s services and led the development of whole system approaches in partnership with government, police, probation, and local authorities.  

Her work is grounded in a commitment to trauma informed practice, equity, and lived experience leadership, with a strong focus on driving systemic change.  

Alongside her executive role, Rokaiya serves as a Non-Executive Director in the NHS and as a school governor, bringing extensive experience in governance, strategy, and public service. 

Rokaiya was made a member of the Sentencing Council on 2 March 2026. 

Jo King JP

Jo King was appointed to the Sussex Central Bench in 2002 and transferred to the Gloucestershire Bench in 2024. She has held a number of leadership roles within the magistracy at local, regional and national level. She has also served as a policy committee member and trustee of the Magistrates’ Association and was a member of the Judicial Conduct and Investigations Office disciplinary panels.

Outside of the magistracy, Jo is an Independent Member of the Parole Board and an Independent Panel Member for a number of major infrastructure project property hardship panels.

Jo was appointed as the magistrate member of the Sentencing Council on 8 October 2020 and will be on the Council until October 2027. 

Stephen Parkinson

Stephen Parkinson is the Director of Public Prosecutions. He was appointed by the Attorney General and took up his post and non-judicial membership of the Sentencing Council on 1 November 2023.

Stephen studied law at University College London, before qualifying as a Barrister in 1980 and as a Solicitor in 2005.

He began his legal career in 1984 as a junior prosecutor at the Department of the Director of Public Prosecutions, which became the CPS in 1986. He progressed to Assistant Branch Crown Prosecutor roles and later established and led the CPS’ International Co-operation Unit.

Stephen subsequently held roles across Government, including positions in the Treasury Solicitor’s Department, where he was responsible for most of the Government’s regulatory litigation, and the Department of Trade and Industry, where he headed a team providing legal advice in live company investigations. For four years from 1999, Stephen was Deputy Head of the Attorney General’s Office.

For the past 20 years, Stephen has been a practising defence lawyer. He became Head of Criminal Practice at the law firm Kingsley Napley in 2006, going on to become Senior Partner at the firm in 2018. Representing a range of clients, Stephen developed an extensive practice advising on, or undertaking, investigations for organisations, companies, and individuals.

Stephen was appointed a member of the Sentencing Council on 1 November 2023.

Her Honour Judge Amanda Rippon

Amanda Rippon was called to the Bar in 1993 and spent the next decade practicing in crime in London and the South Eastern Circuit. In 2003 she moved to the North East and chambers in Newcastle upon Tyne. She specialised in serious sexual and violent offences, both prosecuting and defending, and was particularly instructed in cases involving vulnerable witnesses and defendants. Her last cases at the Bar were prosecuting a series of child sexual exploitation trials, appearing as junior and leading junior counsel. Prior to her appointment as a Circuit Judge she was Head of Chambers (New Park Court, Newcastle).

Amanda has been an advocacy trainer for 20 years and is a qualified teacher trainer. She has been a faculty member of the South Eastern Circuit’s Advanced Advocacy Course over many years and has trained advocacy for her circuit, Inn and internationally.

Amanda was appointed a Recorder of the Crown Court in 2008, given class 2 authorisation in 2011 and appointed to the Circuit Bench in March 2016, sitting in Newcastle upon Tyne. She transferred to Teesside Crown Court in November 2025.

Amanda was appointed a judicial member of the Sentencing Council from 8 April 2024.

Johanna Robinson

Johanna Robinson has served as National Adviser to the Welsh Government on Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence since September 2022. In this role she provides Welsh Ministers with an expert perspective on the development and implementation of policy across the Welsh Government, working with victims and survivors to ensure their experience informs policy development.

Prior to this appointment, Johanna worked for four years as Head of Strategy for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent and, for one year, as Operational Director for Llamau, a leading charity in Wales for young people experiencing homelessness and women as victims and survivors of domestic abuse. Between 2016 and 2018 she served as Head of Victims Services for Gwent Police, leading on the delivery of victims' services and, from 2013 to 2016, was National Development Manager for The Survivors Trust, providing support and advice to victims of sexual violence, before which she worked with victims at the Youth Offending Service in Cardiff.

Johanna’s appointment to the Sentencing Council was for an initial term of 3 years from 5 October 2023. The Lord Chancellor, with the agreement of the Lady Chief Justice, has also reappointed Johanna Robinson as the member representing victims with effect from 5 October to serve for a further three years. She has specific responsibility on the Council for promoting the welfare of victims of crime.

District Judge (Magistrates' Courts) Daniel Sternberg

Daniel Sternberg was called to the bar in 2006 and specialised in criminal and public law and extradition. He was appointed to the Attorney-General's panel of Civil Counsel. In 2019 he was appointed as a Deputy District Judge (Magistrates' Courts) and in 2022 he was appointed as a District Judge (Magistrates' Courts). Daniel sits at Westminster Magistrates' Court trying crime, extradition, terrorism, national security, youth and proceeds of crime matters. He was appointed as a Deputy Upper Tribunal Judge in the Asylum and Immigration Chamber in 2024. He is a tutor at the Judicial College.

Daniel was appointed a judicial member of the Sentencing Council from 24 August 2026.

The Honourable Mr Justice Mark Wall

Mark Wall was appointed a High Court Judge in October 2020 having previously been a Circuit Judge based at Birmingham Crown Court. Prior to his appointment to the circuit bench he was a Recorder and Deputy High Court Judge. He was called to the Bar in 1985 and worked on the Midland Circuit out of chambers in Leicester and thereafter Citadel Chambers in Birmingham. He took silk in 2006 and was a criminal practitioner. He was leader of the Midland Circuit between 2011 and 2014. He is a member of the Royal Society’s Primers Steering Group and heads up the Advisory Board for the Leverhulme Centre for Forensic Science at Dundee University.

Mark was appointed a judicial member of the Sentencing Council on 2 January 2023.

Richard Wright KC

Richard Wright was called to the Bar in 1998 and took silk in 2013. He has practised from 6 Park Square in Leeds since 1998 where he has been Head of Chambers since 2013.

Specialising in murder and manslaughter cases, Richard has prosecuted and defended in some of the highest profile cases across the North of England. His significant cases include prosecuting Wearside Jack for the Yorkshire Ripper hoax tapes, defending William Cornick for the murder in class of Leeds teacher Anne Maguire, prosecuting the first ever case of manslaughter by gross negligence related to food allergy and prosecuting Pawel Relowicz for the rape and murder of Hull student Libby Squire.

Since 2020 he has been Leader of the North Eastern Circuit, leading the professions’ response to the Covid-19 emergency and, in 2022, was invited to join the legal team of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.

Richard was appointed Deputy District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) in 2006, Recorder of the Crown Court in 2012 and Deputy High Court Judge in January 2023. He has been a non-judicial member of the Sentencing Council since 1 August 2022 with responsibility for representing criminal defence.