Benjamin Russell (January 10, 1849 – September 20, 1935) was a Canadian lawyer, professor of law, judge, and politician in the province
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
.
Early life and education
Born in
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Dartmouth ( ) is an urban community and former city located in the Halifax Regional Municipality of Nova Scotia, Canada. Dartmouth is located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour. Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes, after the larg ...
to Nathaniel and Agnes Russell, he was educated at the Halifax Grammar School, and graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts from
Mount Allison College in 1868. He received the degree of Masters of Arts in 1871 and in 1893, the degree of Doctor of Laws.
Legal career
Russell was admitted to the bar in 1872 and made Queen's Counsel (Earl of Derby) in 1890. As successor to
Sir John Sparrow David Thompson, he reported debates in the
Nova Scotia House of Assembly
The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scotia ...
(1869 to 1883). He was also a Reporter to the Supreme Court (1875 to 1895) and a legal adviser of the
Legislative Council of Nova Scotia
The Legislative Council of Nova Scotia was the upper house of the legislature of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It existed from 1838 to May 31, 1928. From the establishment of responsible government in 1848, members were appointed by th ...
(1884 to 1896). He was also professor of contracts and lecturer on Bills and Notes, Sales and Equity Jurisprudence Law at
Dalhousie University.
Political career
Russell was first elected to the
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Common ...
for the electoral district of
Halifax in the
1896 general election. A
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
, he was re-elected in the
1900 election for the electoral district of
Hants. In 1904 he was appointed a
puisne judge
A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use
The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...
of the
Nova Scotia Supreme Court
The Nova Scotia Supreme Court is a superior court in the province of Nova Scotia.
The Supreme Court consists of 25 judicial seats including the position of Chief Justice and Associate Chief Justice. At any given time there may be one or more addit ...
on 3 October 1904. He served until his death in 1935. He was also a noted editor of English Law treatises and author.
On 6 March 1918, Russell was approached by an independent Halifax lawyer, Walter Joseph Aloysius O'Hearn, the representative of Francis Mackey, the pilot of the ill-fated
SS Mont-Blanc. On 6 December 1917, Mackey's ship, laden with a cargo of highly volatile explosives, collided with
SS Imo, a Belgian Relief vessel under Norwegian registry, in
Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural harbo ...
. The resultant blast decimated the North End of the city and inflicted many casualties. Along with the captain of the vessel, Aimé Le Médec, and the chief examining officer of the port, Commander F. Evan Wyatt, Mackey had been accused of manslaughter and criminal negligence and arrested. The pilot could not afford bail and was thrown in jail. O'Hearn asked Judge Russell to issue a writ of
habeas corpus
''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...
.
Russell agreed there was no justification for the charges and released the prisoner on 15 March 1918. As the captain had been arrested on the same warrant, he too was given a written discharge though he had not spent any time in jail. There were many people who were most displeased with Russell's decision, including Attorney General Orlando Tiles Daniels. On 2 April, an attempt by prosecutor, Andrew Cluney, on behalf of the attorney general's office to overturn the decision in the
Nova Scotia Supreme Court
The Nova Scotia Supreme Court is a superior court in the province of Nova Scotia.
The Supreme Court consists of 25 judicial seats including the position of Chief Justice and Associate Chief Justice. At any given time there may be one or more addit ...
(in banco) failed for lack of jurisdiction (as did two subsequent bids to indict Mackey on 9 April and 2 October 1918). Mr. O'Hearn pointed out the lack of jurisdiction from the outset of the proceedings. Four of the five justices, including Chief Justice Edward Robert Harris agreed. Justice Arthur Drysdale was the lone dissenter. Ultimately, Justice Russell's decision was final. The case, ''In re Mackey'', was added as a citation to the ''Criminal Code of Canada'' beginning in 1919 under Section 262 entitled, ''Manslaughter defined.'' Russell also presided over the Commander Wyatt's grand jury hearing (19–20 March 1918) and trial (17 April 1918). The trial proceedings took less than a day and ended with an acquittal on both charges.
In his autobiography, Russell reflected upon these particular proceedings. He stated: "''Civium ardor prava jubentium'' gave me all that I could do in disposing of the cases with which I was bound to deal. One of these concerned the official in charge of the wiring across the mouth of the harbour. To suppose he had anything in the world to do with the disaster was an utterly lunatic notion. Yet my impression is that the Grand Jury insisted on finding a true bill and placing him on trial. When the bill reached me I got rid of it in the shortest and easiest way possible. It was simply nonsensical, and the fact a grand jury could find it was symptomatic of the condition of the common feeling."
[Russell, Benjamin. ''Autobiography of Benjamin Russell'' (1932, Halifax: Royal Print and Litho Ltd.), p. 270.]
Judge Russell's
autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
was published in 1932.
Footnotes
Suggested reading
''Autobiography of Benjamin Russell'' (1932, Halifax: Royal Print and Litho Ltd.)
General references
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Benjamin
1849 births
1935 deaths
Academic staff of the Dalhousie University
Judges in Nova Scotia
Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Nova Scotia
Mount Allison University alumni
People from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Canadian King's Counsel