Geoffrey Lane, Baron Lane

Who was Geoffrey Lane, Baron Lane?

Geoffrey Dawson Lane, Baron Lane AFC PC QC was a British Judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of England from 1980 to 1992. The later part of his term was marred by a succession of disputed convictions. Lane's critics claimed that his refusal to believe that police evidence could be institutionally corrupt and his reluctance to overturn the verdict of a jury "represented a dangerous hindrance to justice". His failure to allow the appeal of the Birmingham Six in 1988 led to calls for his resignation following their successful appeal in 1991, and an editorial in The Times "urged him to go," while 140 MPs signed a House of Commons motion to that effect. Bernard Levin wrote that the "narcissistic arrogance" of Lane's "worthless certainty" was "a danger to justice".