Sir George James Turner (5 February 1798 – 9 July 1867) was an English barrister, politician and judge. He became a Lord Justice of Appeal in chancery.

Life

Born at Great Yarmouth on 5 February 1798, he was the youngest of eight sons of Richard Turner, for many years the vicar there; William Turner was his elder brother. George was educated at Charterhouse School and then at Pembroke College, Cambridge, where his uncle Joseph Turner was Master. He graduated B.A. in 1819, was elected a Fellow, and proceeded M.A. in 1822. He was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1821. After building up an extensive practice as a junior counsel, Turner was made a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

in 1840. In 1847 he was elected, in the Conservative interest, Member of Parliament for

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

, and represented the borough until his promotion to the bench in April 1851. He introduced and carried the measure known as "Turner's Act" ( Court of Chancery (England) Act 1850, ''An Act to diminish the delay and expense of proceedings in the High Court of Chancery in England''), intended to simplify parts of the machinery of the

Court of Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equ ...

. In April 1851, Turner was appointed a Vice-Chancellor of England, and received the customary knighthood. In the same year he was sworn a member of the Privy Council. In 1852 he was on the chancery reform commission, and in 1853 he became a Lord Justice of Appeal in chancery, keeping the position until his death, which took place on 9 July 1867 at 23 Park Crescent, London. He was buried at

Kelshall Kelshall is a small village in North East Hertfordshire, England. It is near the town of Royston. It has a village hall and the local church is St Faith's. Kelshall is also the name of the civil parish. Kelshall also has a major road running alo ...

, near

Royston, Hertfordshire Royston is a town and civil parish in the District of North Hertfordshire and county of Hertfordshire in England. It is situated on the Greenwich Meridian, which brushes the town's eastern boundary, and at the northernmost apex of the count ...

. Turner was a bencher of Lincoln's Inn, a governor of Charterhouse School, and a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

. On 7 June 1853 he had received the honorary degree of D.C.L. from the university of Oxford. As a judge he opposed attempts to narrow the limits of the jurisdiction of the chancery court, and made efforts to expand its remedial powers to meet contemporary developments.

Works

In 1832 Turner edited a volume of chancery reports dealing with cases between 1822 and 1824, with James Russell.

Family

Turner married, in 1823, Louisa, youngest daughter of Edward Jones of Brackley, Northamptonshire, by whom he had six sons and three daughters.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, George James 1798 births 1867 deaths English barristers 19th-century English judges Fellows of Pembroke College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People from Great Yarmouth Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge People educated at Charterhouse School Members of Lincoln's Inn 19th-century King's Counsel Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Knights Bachelor Members of Parliament for Coventry UK MPs 1847–1852