A self-taught legal chief from East Sussex is retiring after 40 years in the criminal courts.
Michael McKenzie, 60, a judge in his own right, will retire as head of the Court of Appeal on Friday after a career which started with him working as assistant clerk in Brighton courts in 1963.
He studied at home for three years in the evenings and at weekends to become a barrister and did a six-month crash course before passing his bar exams first time.
He was formerly in charge of the Old Bailey and was involved in many famous cases, including the trials of Jeremy Thorpe and the Yorkshire Ripper.
At the Court of Appeal he has taken part in high-profile appeals by the Birmingham Six, the Guildford Four and Winston Silcott.
He was made a Queen's Counsel in 1991 and a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1999.
His last official engagement was to officiate at the swearing in of the new Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, at the Royal Courts of Justice.
He was born and brought up in Brighton and now lives at Heathfield.
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