Robert Rinder

Robert Rinder (born 31 May 1978), better known as Judge Rinder, is an English criminal law barrister and television court judge.^[2] 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".^[3]

Early and personal life

Rinder was born in London and raised in Southgate. He is Jewish,^[3][4] and is the grandson of a Holocaust survivor.^[5]

He attended Queen Elizabeth's School for Boys^[6] and the National Youth Theatre, though he later gave up acting because "Benedict Cumberbatch was so good".^[7] Rinder then studied politics, modern history and art at the University of Manchester, graduating with double first class honours.^[6][8]

Rinder 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.^[3][9] In return, Rinder was one of three best men at Cumberbatch's wedding in 2015.^[10] In 2014, he started to write a legal-based discussion column in the newspaper The Sun.^[9]

Legal career

Rinder was called to the bar in 2001 after graduating from the University of Manchester, starting his pupillage at 2 Paper Buildings^[11] after going straight from University into it because of his double first.^[6] Rinder then became a tenant at 2 Hare Court.^[12] 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 the defence of British servicemen on charges of manslaughter after the deaths of detainees in Iraq.^[13] 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.^[13]

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.^[14] 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.^[15][14] 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.^[15] 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".^[16] 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.^[17] As such he wears his normal barrister's court dress but without the barrister's wig.^[18] Rinder received praise for his cross-examination abilities and acerbic comments.^[15] 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.^[17][19] In 2015, Rinder was in discussions to create an American version of "Judge Rinder" to be broadcast to directly compete with "Judge Judy".^[20]

In 2015 Rinder released a book called “Rinder Rules, Make the law work for you!”.^[21] 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,^[22] which he started with a discussion with former Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge.^[23]

Strictly Come Dancing

From September 2016 Rinder competed in the fourteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, stating that he was doing so to make his grandmother proud of him.^[24] Rinder was partnered with Ukrainian-born professional dancer Oksana Platero.^[25] Prior to the competition, he commented on Judge Craig Revel Horwood "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".^[26]

In his first week the couple danced a Cha-Cha-Cha to "Mercy" by Duffy and were awarded 25 points. In the second week, when Rinder's grandparents appeared, he and his partner danced an American Smooth to "Marvin Gaye" by Charlie Puth and scored 27. In week 7 the couple danced a classic quickstep to "It Don’t Mean a Thing" by Chantz Powell, earning them 33 points.

References

External links

• Robert Rinder at the Internet Movie Database
• Robert Rinder at Biogs.com