Sir James Mansfield, (originally Manfield; 1734 – 23 November 1821) was a British lawyer, judge and politician. He was twice Solicitor General and served as

Chief Justice of the Common Pleas The chief justice of the Common Pleas was the head of the Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench or Common Place, which was the second-highest common law court in the English legal system until 1875, when it, along with the othe ...

from 1799 to 1814.

Early life and career

The son of a

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

attorney, Mansfield's private life was kept somewhat guarded. His father John James changed the family name from Manfield to Mansfield. James married Grace in 1765 at St Margaret's Westminster, fathered six children (only one of whom is believed to have survived into adulthood), but also had another five children by another partner. One of these five was John Mansfield of Diggeswell, father of General

William Mansfield, 1st Baron Sandhurst General William Rose Mansfield, 1st Baron Sandhurst (21 June 1819 – 23 June 1876) was a British military commander who served as Commander-in-Chief of India from 1865 to 1870. In Bombay now Mumbai, there is local train station named after B ...

. Mansfield attended

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

from 1745 until 1750, and then

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

, of which he was elected a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

in 1754. He graduated with a BA in 1755 and an MA in 1758. Mansfield pursued a career in law, obtaining admission to 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 ...

on 11 February 1755 and being called to the bar on 28 November 1758. His career, both at

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

and in chancery, was quite successful, and he was appointed one of the counsel for

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he f ...

in 1768. Mansfield was one of

James Somersett James Somerset ( – after 1772) was an African man and the plaintiff in a pivotal court case that confirmed that slavery was not legal in England and Wales. Biography Somerset was born in West Africa around 1741. He was captured when he was about ...

's lawyers; Somersett was a slave brought by his master from Jamaica to London in 1769, and freed on 22 June 1772 by a ruling from

Lord Mansfield William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, PC, SL (2 March 170520 March 1793) was a British barrister, politician and judge noted for his reform of English law. Born to Scottish nobility, he was educated in Perth, Scotland, before moving to Lond ...

(no relation). Mansfield was made

king'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 or ...

on 24 July 1772, and 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 can ...

of the Middle Temple shortly after, on 6 November 1772. He was involved in the trials, in 1776, of the Duchess of Kingston for

bigamy In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...

, and of

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

, Hollis, Calthorpe, and Beckford (candidates for Hindon) for bribery. In 1777, he was defence counsel for

John the Painter James Aitken (28 September 1752 – 10 March 1777), also known as John the Painter, was a mercenary who committed acts of sabotage in Royal Navy naval dockyards during the American Revolutionary War in 1776–77. Early life Aitken was born in ...

, and crown prosecutor in 1779 against the counsellors who arrested Lord Pigot and took over

Fort St George Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress in the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further s ...

. His ability was admired by the

North Ministry Frederick North, Lord North was appointed to lead the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain by King George III from 1770 to 1782. His ministry oversaw the Falklands Crisis of 1770, the 1780 Gordon Riots and the outbreak of the American Wa ...

, and he was offered a seat at

Morpeth Morpeth may refer to: *Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia ** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales * Morpeth, Ontario, Canada * Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK ** Morpeth (UK ...

in 1776 by the

Earl of Carlisle Earl of Carlisle is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England. History The first creation came in 1322, when Andrew Harclay, 1st Baron Harclay, was made Earl of Carlisle. He had already been summoned to Parliame ...

, but declined lest it interfere with his prospects for a judgeship. He was considered, but ultimately passed over, by

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 (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

to fill the post of

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 ...

or Solicitor General.

Political career

Mansfield finally did enter the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

in 1779 as member for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, replacing the newly acceded

Duke of Rutland Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in who ...

. While he was supported by the

Duke of Grafton Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for Henry FitzRoy, his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland. The most notable duke of Grafton was Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke ...

against the government candidate,

Lord John Townshend Lord John Townshend PC (19 January 1757 – 23 February 1833), styled The Honourable John Townshend until 1787, was a British Whig politician. Background Townshend was the second son of Field Marshal George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend ...

, he subsequently voted with the administration. He was appointed Solicitor General on 1 September 1780, and was part of the prosecution of

Lord George Gordon Lord George Gordon (26 December 1751 – 1 November 1793) was a British politician best known for lending his name to the Gordon Riots of 1780. An eccentric and flighty personality, he was born into the Scottish nobility and sat in the Hous ...

in 1781. He went into opposition in April 1782 with the fall of North, and briefly regained the Solicitor-Generalship in 1783 under the Fox-North Coalition. That ministry fell in December, and he was defeated in the general election of 1784.

Return to the law

While in Parliament, in 1782, Mansfield had been elected Reader of the Middle Temple, and was Treasurer in 1785. He was counsel in a number of high-profile cases, including the Thellusson Will Case, in which he and Samuel Romilly represented the plaintiffs. He was appointed Chief Justice of Chester in July 1799 before becoming

on 24 April 1804, becoming a

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 writ ...

and receiving a knighthood. As a judge, he was principally known for his easily provoked temper, but his knowledge of the law was thought considerable. He refused an offer of the

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

ship in 1806. As chief justice, he presided over the trial of

John Bellingham John Bellingham (176918 May 1812) was an English merchant and perpetrator of the 1812 murder of Spencer Perceval, the only British prime minister to be assassinated. Early life Bellingham's early life is largely unknown, and most post-assass ...

, assassin of

Spencer Perceval Spencer Perceval (1 November 1762 – 11 May 1812) was a British statesman and barrister who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1809 until his assassination in May 1812. Perceval is the only British prime minister to ...

, in 1812. Mansfield resigned on 21 February 1814, due to ill health and died at his house in London on 23 May 1821.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mansfield, James 1733 births 1821 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Chief Justices of the Common Pleas 19th-century English judges Knights Bachelor Members of the Middle Temple Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College Serjeants-at-law (England) Solicitors General for England and Wales Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Cambridge University British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784

Early life and career

Political career

Return to the law

See also

References