Robert Rinder
Robert Rinder | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Michael Rinder[1] 14 December 1978[2] London |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | University of Manchester |
| Occupation(s) | Barrister, television presenter |
| Known for | Judge Rinder Judge Rinder's Crime Stories |
| Spouse | Seth Cummings |
Robert Michael Rinder (born 14 December 1978), also known as Judge Rinder, is an English criminal law barrister and television court judge.[3] He is best known for his role on the reality courtroom series Judge Rinder. He has been described as "the Simon Cowell of the bench … in a British version of the hit American show Judge Judy".[4]
Early and private life
Rinder was born in London and raised in Southgate. He is Jewish,[4][5] and is the grandson of a Holocaust survivor.[6]
He attended Queen Elizabeth's School for Boys[7] and the National Youth Theatre, though he later gave up acting because "Benedict Cumberbatch was so good".[8] Rinder then studied Politics,Modern History and art at the University of Manchester, graduating with double first class honours.[7][9]
Rinder is homosexual; he became the civil partner of barrister Seth Cummings at a ceremony on the island of Ibiza in 2013, conducted by Rinder's friend, the actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who was legally entitled to conduct the civil partnership ceremony because of his online Universal Life Church ministerial ordination.[4][10] In return, Rinder was one of three best men at Cumberbatch's wedding in 2015.[11] In 2014, he started to write a legal based discussion column in The Sun newspaper.[10]
Legal career
Rinder was called to the bar in 2001 after graduating from the University of Manchester, starting his pupillage at 2 Paper Buildings[12] after going straight from University into it because of his double first.[7] Rinder then became a tenant at 2 Hare Court.[13] He went on to specialise in international fraud, money laundering and other forms of financial crime. He was involved in prosecutions following the murders of Leticia Shakespeare and Charlene Ellis in January 2003, and prosecutions of English servicemen on charges of manslaughter after the deaths of detainees in Iraq.[14] Since 2010 he has been involved in the investigation and prosecution of alleged bribery, corruption and fraud in the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands.[14]
Television career
While practising as a barrister, Rinder wrote television scripts in his spare time. Upon attempting to sell one, he met producer Tom McLennan.[15] He approached ITV with a proposal for a remake of the 1970s programme, "Crown Court"; however this was rejected in favour of a British version of Judge Judy and McLennan offered Rinder the opportunity to front it.[16][15] Since 2014 he has been the eponymous judge in the reality courtroom series Judge Rinder, where he has been referred to as a British "Judge Judy".[16] Shortly after the programme started he criticised Judith Sheindlin, the judge of "Judge Judy" for making judgements based on her preconceptions, while claiming that he applied the law seriously and made "real legal rulings".[17] Despite this, he insisted that it be clarified on the programme that he is a practising criminal law barrister and not a civil court judge.[18] As such he wears his normal barrister's court dress but without the barrister's wig.[19] Rinder received praise for his cross-examination abilities and acerbic comments.[16] However he has been accused of devaluing and misrepresenting the British legal system for entertainment purposes as his courtroom includes a gavel and flag of the United Kingdom, neither of which are used in British courts but are on display in American courts and televised court programmes.[18][20] In 2015, Rinder was in discussions to create an American version of "Judge Rinder" to be broadcast to directly compete with "Judge Judy".[21]
In 2015, Rinder released a book called “Rinder Rules, Make the law work for you!”.[22] In 2016, he presented a new series, Judge Rinder's Crime Stories, with reconstructions of real crimes. He also hosts "Raising the Bar" on BBC Radio 5 Live,[23] which he started with a discussion with former Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge.[24] He is currently taking part in the fourteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, which he agreed to take part in as a tribute to his grandmother.[25] The series began in September 2016 and Rinder was partnered with Ukrainian-born professional dancer Oksana Platero.[26] Prior to the competition, he commented on Judge Craig Revel Horwood stating "I’m sure Craig and I will get on brilliantly. He’s very similar to me – thoughtful, honest, clever and modest, and has a good eye".[27]
References
- ^ "Robert Michael Rinder". The Law Pages. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
- ^ "All rise! Judge Rinder announced for Strictly 2016". BBC. 2016-08-22. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
- ^ "'Judge Rinder': 9 Facts In 90 Seconds On ITV Daytime's Barrister Robert Rinder". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
- ^ a b c Interview: Judge Rinder, Jewish Chronicle, 21 August 2014
- ^ Robert Rinder: the UK's answer to American chat-show host Judge Judy! Jewish News Online, January 29, 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
- ^ Jewish Community To Mark Yom HaShoah And VE Day In Their Thousands This Sunday Jewish Leadership Council website, Retrieved 23 June 2016.
- ^ a b c "Judge Rinder and QE". Queen Elizabeth's School. Retrieved 2016-09-07.
- ^ Hunt, Julia (2016-06-14). "'Benedict Cumberbatch made me give up acting because he was so good' admits Judge Rinder". The Mirror. Retrieved 2016-09-07.
- ^ "The Big Interview: Judge Rinder". Chambers Student. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
- ^ a b Fairbairn, Emily (2014-11-07). "Too many lawyers spout jargon… I'm here to cut the bulls**t – The Sun". The Sun. Retrieved 2016-09-07.
- ^ "Benedict Cumberbatch's best man revealed as Judge Robert Rinder,". The Telegraph. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- ^ Catherine Baksi (2016-04-21). "Legal Hackette Lunches with Robert Rinder". Legalhackette.com. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
- ^ Robert Rinder, 2 Hare Court
- ^ a b CV, 2 Hare Court
- ^ a b Foxton, Hannah (2016-09-02). "Interview: Judge Rinder". Cherwell.org. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
- ^ a b c "Read the FLN's review of ITV's Judge Rinder". Law.ac.uk. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
- ^ Percival, Ash (2014-08-08). "Judge Rinder sticks the boot into Judge Judy". Daily Star. Retrieved 2016-09-07.
- ^ a b John, Judge (2014-08-15). "Exclusive interview: Judge Rinder on life as Britain's newest reality TV star". Legal Cheek. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
- ^ John, Judge (2014-06-25). "2 Hare Court barrister set to be UK's telly Judge Judy". Legal Cheek. Retrieved 2016-09-07.
- ^ Buerk, Michael (2016-06-20). "Who is Judge Rinder? Meet ITV's reality TV judge and Britain's answer to Judge Judy". Radio Times. Retrieved 2016-09-07.
- ^ "I'm going to USA to take on Judge Judy". The Sun. 2015-10-09. Retrieved 2016-09-07.
- ^ Connelly, Thomas (2015-10-13). "TV barrister Judge Rinder urges 'serious' law students to lighten up in order to succeed". Legal Cheek. Retrieved 2016-09-07.
- ^ 11:00 (2016-08-28). "BBC Radio 5 live - Raising the Bar with Rob Rinder". BBC. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
{{cite web}}:|author=has numeric name (help) - ^ Connelly, Thomas (2016-07-25). "Judge Rinder lifts lid on judicial life in new radio show". Legal Cheek. Retrieved 2016-09-07.
- ^ "TV's Judge Rinder wants to 'make grandmother proud' on Strictly Come Dancing". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- ^ Hogan, Michael (2016-09-03). "Strictly Come Dancing launch: don't rule out Ed 'Disco' Balls's stompy dancing yet - plus 10 more things that happened". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
- ^ "Strictly Come Dancing 2016: Judge Rinder just made his feelings about Craig Revel Horwood very clear…". Metro. 2016-09-03. Retrieved 2016-09-08.