John Francis Carmont, Lord Carmont (30 October 1880 – 7 August 1965) was a Scottish advocate and judge.

Early life

Carmont was born in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

, the youngest son of James Carmont, an honorary Sheriff substitute. He was educated at the

Fort Augustus Abbey Fort Augustus Abbey, properly St. Benedict's Abbey, at Fort Augustus, Inverness-shire, Scotland, was a Benedictine monastery, from late in the nineteenth century to 1998 that also housed a school for young boys until 1993. Inception It owed its ...

until December 1894 when he transferred to

St Bede's College, Manchester ("He never relaxed in idleness") , established = 1876 , closed = , type = Independent day school Public School , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic , president = , head_label = Headteacher , head ...

, for a year. In 1895 he was sent to France to complete his education.

Early career

Upon returning to

, Carmont served an apprenticeship with a local law firm and qualified as a solicitor in 1903, he then studied further law at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1582 ...

and was called to the bar in 1906, taking silk in 1924 and becoming part of the Scottish Senior Bar.

Career on the bench

In May 1934, Carmont was appointed a

Senator of the College of Justice 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); ...

in succession to

Lord Sands Sir Christopher Nicholson Johnston, Lord Sands FRSE (18 October 1857 – 26 February 1934) was a Unionist Party (Scotland) MP for Edinburgh and St Andrews universities between two by-elections in 1916 and 1917. He was an expert on Church Law an ...

and took the Judicial Title of Lord Carmont. Lord Carmont remained as a Judge of the Outer House for only three years, after which record period of time he was appointed to the First Division. In 1952, when razor gangs were running amok in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Lord Carmont went there from

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

to preside over the High Court and after warning that future sentences might require to be more severe if the use of razors and other similar weapons did not cease forthwith, he then imposed sentences of up to 10 years' imprisonment on all those who appeared before him convicted of inflicting horrific injuries on others. One week later the Glasgow police had their first weekend since the war without a single slashing or similar attack. This incident resulted in the phrase "Doing a Carmont" entering the language of the underworld and the press.

Later life and death

Lord Carmont continued to sit on the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...

until two weeks prior to his death at the age of 85.

Sources and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carmont, John 1880 births 1965 deaths People educated at St Bede's College, Manchester Scottish solicitors People from Dumfries Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Members of the Faculty of Advocates Carmont Scottish King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel