Andrew Nicol (judge)
Sir Andrew George Lindsay Nicol (born 9 May 1951) is a retired judge of the High Court of England and Wales. He was educated at City of London Freemen's School, Selwyn College, Cambridge, and Harvard Law School (LLM). He was called to the bar at Middle Temple in 1978 and became a bencher there in 2004. He was made a QC in 1995, deputy judge of the High Court from 2003 to 2009, and judge of the High Court of Justice (Queen's Bench Division) since 2009. He co-wrote "Media Law" with Geoffrey Robertson. Nicol  was quoted as saying: ""Trials derive their legitimacy from being conducted in public; the judge presides as a surrogate for the people, who are entitled to see and approve the power exercised on their behalf. Those who assist the prosecution can and should be protected by other means. No matter how fair, justice must still be seen before it can be said to be done."" Controversial cases. David Sellu. Nicol was the judge in the trial of consultant surgeon David Sellu in November 2013. Sellu was found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter following the death of a patient under his  care. He served 15 months imprisonment of a 30-month sentence. After release, Sellu's appeal against the conviction was successful in 2016. The successful ground for the appeal was that Nicol had failed to instruct the jury properly regarding the grossness element of the offence. The jury had returned to court before reaching their verdict seeking further guidance, which was not forthcoming from Nicol. Johnny Depp/Amber Heard. Nicol ruled against Johnny Depp in his libel suit against former wife Amber Heard by declaring that he accepted Heard's version of events. Depp was denied leave to appeal in  the UK and he filed a lawsuit in Fairfax County, Virginia against Heard which began in April 2022. Personal life. Nicol is married to Camilla Palmer; they have two sons.