Sir Creswell Levinz (1627–1701), judge, was the second son of William Levinz, the elder, of
Evenley
Evenley is a village and civil parish just over south of Brackley in West Northamptonshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 571.
The villages name means 'Level wood/clearing'.
Geography
The parish is bounded by t ...
,
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
, by Mary, second daughter of Richard Creswell of Purston in the same county. He was the brother of
Baptist Levinz and
William Levinz
William Levinz (25 July 1625 – 3 March 1698), doctor of medicine and Regius Professor of Greek at Oxford University, was President of St John's College, Oxford, from 1673 until 1698.
Life
He was the son of William Levinz of Evenley, near ...
,
and nephew of the Royalist
Robert Levinz
Robert Levinz, Levens or Levinge (161518 July 1650), Royalist, was a son of William Levinz of Senkworth, near Abingdon, who carried on the business of a brewer at Oxford. His grandfather, William Levinz, was an alderman of Oxford, and five times ...
.
Early career
He took a
sizar
At Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined jo ...
ship in 1648 at
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
, but did not graduate, and in November 1655 entered
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...
, where he was
called to the bar in November 1661, was elected a
bencher
A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher ca ...
in 1678, and treasurer in 1679. He was knighted at
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...
on 2 Oct. 1678, and made a
King's Counsel about the same time. He represented the crown in the trials of Ireland, Pickering, Grove, Langhorn, Whitebread, and other supposed
Popish Plotters in 1678–9. In October 1679 he was made
Attorney-General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
. In December the celebrated proclamation against "tumultuous petitioning" was under discussion in the council, and Levinz was required to draft it. He refused at first, but eventually consented on condition that
Chief-Justice North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
would dictate the substance of it. Levinz was thus able, when examined by the
House of Commons of England as to his part in the affair (24 Nov. 1680), to shift the entire responsibility on to North's shoulders.
Lord Russell's trial and removal from office
On 12 Feb. 1680 Levinz was called to the degree of
Serjeant-at-Law
A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are wri ...
and raised to the bench of the
common pleas
A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...
. He went the
Oxford circuit
The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...
, and was a member of the commission which tried
Stephen College at the Oxford assizes in August 1681. He was also a member of the special commission which sat at the
Old Bailey in July 1683 to try
Lord Russell for his supposed participation in the
Rye House plot
The Rye House Plot of 1683 was a plan to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother (and heir to the throne) James, Duke of York. The royal party went from Westminster to Newmarket to see horse races and were expected to make the ...
. Lord Russell having challenged one of the jury for not having a
freehold estate
In English law, a fee simple or fee simple absolute is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. A "fee" is a vested, inheritable, present possessory interest in land. A "fee simple" is real property held without limit of time (i.e., pe ...
within the city, the point was elaborately argued. All the judges, however, decided against the challenge. Levinz's judgment is reported at some length in
Cobbett's ''State Trials''. In 1684–85 Levinz was consulted by the king on the question whether a contract by the late king letting out part of the excise to farm was determined by his death, and gave the more sound than courtly advice that it was so. His "quietus" was expected to follow as a matter of course. It was deferred, however, for a time, and he was one of
Jeffreys' colleagues in the
Bloody Assizes
The Bloody Assizes were a series of trials started at Winchester on 25 August 1685 in the aftermath of the Battle of Sedgemoor, which ended the Monmouth Rebellion in England.
History
There were five judges: Sir William Montague (Lord Chief B ...
, and also helped to try some of the rebels in London. His supersedeas came on 10 Feb. 1685–86. No ground of dismissal was assigned, but probably Levinz was thought to be unsafe on the question of the dispensing power.
Late cases, death and legacy
He at once returned to the bar, and was soon busily engaged in pleading. He was one of the counsel for the
Seven Bishops in 1688, defended Major
John Bernardi (an alleged conspirator in the
Jacobite Assassination Plot), securing the dismissal of the bill of indictment by the grand jury and, in the great habeas corpus case of Rex v. Kendall and Roe, before
Lord Chief Justice
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
Holt in 1695, he argued successfully against the legality of a committal to prison under a general warrant by a secretary of state. He died at
Serjeants' Inn on 29 Jan. 1700–1, and was buried in
Evenley parish church.
Part of his
monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...
there survives: a more than life-size
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
statue of Levinz wearing his judge's robes and wig.
He was succeeded by his son
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
who was a Nottinghamshire MP.
Writings
From manuscripts left by Levinz was published in 1702 a folio volume of reports in French (with an English translation chiefly by
Salkeld Salkeld may refer to:
* Bill Salkeld (1917–1967), American baseball player
* Blanaid Salkeld (1880–1959), Irish poet, dramatist, and actor
* John Louis Salkeld (1858–1941), Canadian farmer and political figure
* Lancelot Salkeld (1475–1 ...
); it reappeared under the title, ''The Reports of Sir Creswell Levinz, Knight'', London, 1722, 2 vols. fol. A third edition in English only, revised by Thomas Vickers, was published at Dublin in 1793–7, 3 vols. 8vo. Levinz also compiled ''A Collection of Select and Modern Entries of Declarations, Pleadings, Issues, Verdicts, Judgments, &c., referring to the Cases in Sir Creswell Levinz's Reports, the judgment of the Court being added to each President'' (sic), which was published in London in 1702, fol. There has been some division of opinion among English judges as to Levinz's merits as a reporter.
References
External links
Internet Archive: The Reports of Sir Creswell Levinz
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levinz, Creswell
1627 births
1701 deaths
Attorneys General for England and Wales
17th-century English judges
People from Evenley
Serjeants-at-law (England)