He was appointed QC in 1960 , Recorder of Grimsby ( 1961 &ndash; 63 ) and Recorder of Derby ( 1963 &ndash; 65 ) . He received considerable public attention in 1963 when he appeared for the prosecution in the Great Train Robbery trial . In 1964 , James was asked to chair the statutory inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the Metropolitan Police 's Detective Sergeant Harold Challenor 's being able to plant evidence and assault suspects . In 1965 he was appointed a High Court Judge , assigned to the Queen 's Bench Division . He received the customary knighthood on his appointment . He was elected to an honorary fellowship of Jesus College in 1972 . He was promoted to the Court of Appeal in 1973 and was sworn as a member of the Privy Council accordingly . He had a reputation as a hard-working judge . When he was a member of the Court of Appeal , it was once said ( albeit with some exaggeration ) that James made more decisions on criminal cases than the rest of his fellow judges put together , when taking into account decisions made without open court hearings
Great Train Robbery
Great Train Robbery (1963)
Arthur James (judge)