Sir James Dale Cassels (22 March 1877 – 7 February 1972) was a British judge, journalist and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician.

Early life

He was the only son of Robert Cassels, assistant clerk at the

Bow Street Magistrates' Court Bow Street Magistrates' Court became one of the most famous magistrates' court in England. Over its 266-year existence it occupied various buildings on Bow Street in Central London, immediately north-east of Covent Garden. It closed in 2006 and ...

. He was educated at the United Westminster City School where he learnt

shorthand Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek ''ste ...

Journalism

He began work as a reporter with the ''Sussex Coast Mercury'' in

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hov ...

, subsequently moving to London, where he worked for the ''Chelsea News'' and the ''Fulham Chronicle''. In 1898 he joined the staff of the ''

Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...

''. He stayed with the paper for fourteen years, originally as a parliamentary correspondent, later becoming a sub-editor.

Legal career

In 1908 Cassels was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

. He practised on the South-Eastern Circuit, and his heavy caseload led to him abandoning journalism in 1911. His legal career was interrupted from 1916 to 1919 by the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Cassels served on the Western Front, fighting at the Battle of Arras and was twice mentioned in dispatches. He reached the rank of captain, and chaired a number of

courts martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

. In 1923 he

took silk 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 or ...

, appearing in the criminal courts and in the

King's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

of the High Court. He was leading counsel for the defence in the celebrated murder trial of

Sidney Harry Fox Sidney Harry Fox (1899 – 8 April 1930) was a British petty swindler and convicted murderer. He was executed for the murder of his mother in an attempt to obtain money from an insurance policy on her life. His case is unusual in that it is a rar ...

, but was unable to secure an acquittal. His manner was brusque, and he was highly amused to be told that he was considered "the second rudest man at the Bar", Sir

Patrick Hastings Sir Patrick Gardiner Hastings (17 March 1880 – 26 February 1952) was an English barrister and politician noted for his long and highly successful career as a barrister and his short stint as Attorney General. He was educated at Charterhou ...

being the rudest. In 1927 he was made

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and in 1928 recorder of

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. He was also chairman of

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

Quarter Sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

. In 1939 he was appointed as a judge, and received a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

. He presided over a number of notable trials in the 1950s before retiring in 1960. He served as a special

Commissioner of Assize 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 e ...

at Norwich in 1961 and at the Central Criminal Court in 1962, clearing a backlog of cases.

Parliamentary career

At the 1922 general election, he was elected as MP for the Leyton West constituency in east London, unseating the

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 ...

Alfred Newbould Alfred Ernest Newbould (24 October 1873 – 25 April 1952) was a British cinematographer and Liberal politician. Family and education Newbould was born in Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire, the son of J. J. Newbould from the nearby village of ...

by over 4,000 votes. Cassels narrowly held the seat at the 1923 general election, with majority of only 64 votes over Newbould, but at the 1924 general election he increased his majority to 3,403. However, he was defeated at the 1929 general election by Labour's

Reginald Sorensen Reginald William Sorensen, Baron Sorensen (19 June 1891 – 8 October 1971) was a Unitarian minister and Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for over thirty years between 1929 and 1964. Early life ...

, who represented the constituency (with one brief interruption) until 1965. Cassels did not contest the Leyton seat again, but at the 1931 general election he was elected as MP for Camberwell North West, with a large majority. He did not seek re-election at the 1935 general election, when he was succeeded by the Conservative

Oscar Guest Oscar Montague Guest (24 August 1888 – 8 May 1958) was a politician in the United Kingdom, initially with the Liberal Party and later as a Conservative. He was twice elected as a Member of Parliament (MP). Family He was the youngest of ...

Family

Cassels was married three times. He was survived by his third wife, Deodora née Croft, and by a son (also a judge) and daughter from his second marriage. He died in 1972 aged 94. A biography by Iain Adamson, ''A Man of Quality'', was published in 1964.

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cassels, James Dale 1877 births 1972 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1931–1935 Members of the Middle Temple 20th-century English judges British male journalists British Army General List officers