James Keith, Baron Keith of Avonholm, (20 May 1886 – 29 June 1964) was a

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advocate and judge. He served as a

Lord of Session The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...

from 1937 to 1953, and then as a

Law Lord Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House o ...

until 1961.

Early life and career

His grandfather and namesake, James Keith (17 April 1825 – 21 March 1901) and his father, Sir Henry Shanks Keith (26 Dec. 1852 – 9 July 1944) both served as Provosts of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, Lanarkshire, Scotland; his father also being appointed a Deputy Lieutenant and Honorary Sheriff of Lanarkshire. His family owned the large high-end grocery business, Keith's of Hamilton, operating from substantial premises on the town's Cadzow Street (the building remains.) The young James Keith was brought up at Avonholm, Hamilton and was educated at the

Hamilton Academy Hamilton Academy was a school in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The school was described as "one of the finest schools in Scotland" in the Cambridge University Press County Biography of 1910, and was featured in a 1950 Scottish Seconda ...

and the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, where he took a First in History (M.A.) and a LL.B. He was admitted to the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constit ...

in 1911. During World War I, he joined the Seaforth Highlanders, and was wounded in France. He was later attached to the Egyptian Army and served with the Sudanese government. After the War, Keith returned to the Scottish bar, and took silk in 1926. In 1936 he was elected as Dean of the Faculty of Advocates.

Judicial career

In 1937, Keith was appointed a Senator of the College of Justice, taking the judicial title of Lord Keith. In 1953, he was made a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, and was created a life peer, as Baron Keith of Avonholm, of Saint Bernard's in the City of Edinburgh. He was sworn in the Privy Council the same year. As a Law Lord, he dissented in 22% of the cases which he heard – a larger percentage than that of his famously radical contemporary,

Lord Denning Alfred Thompson "Tom" Denning, Baron Denning (23 January 1899 – 5 March 1999) was an English lawyer and judge. He was called to the bar of England and Wales in 1923 and became a King's Counsel in 1938. Denning became a judge in 1944 wh ...

.Heward, Edmund (1990). Lord Denning: A Biography. George Weidenfeld & Nicolson Limited. . He retired in 1961.

Children

On 7 July 1915 James Keith married Jean Maitland Bennett. The couple had three children – * The Hon. Elizabeth Hamilton Keith * The Hon. Helena Stewart Keith * The Hon. Henry Keith (7 Feb. 1922 – 21 June 2002), who also became a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, taking the title of '' The Hon. The Lord Keith of Kinkel''.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, James 1886 births 1964 deaths People educated at Hamilton Academy Keith of Avonholm Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council

Keith Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

Deans of the Faculty of Advocates