James Scott Cumberland Reid, Baron Reid, (30 July 1890 – 29 March 1975) was a Scottish Unionist politician and judge. His reputation is as one of the most outstanding judges of the 20th century.

Life

He was born on 30 July 1890 in

Drem Drem (Scottish Gaelic: ''Druim'') is a small village in East Lothian, Scotland. It is approximately 20 miles east of Edinburgh and is close to Haddington (to the south), North Berwick (northeast), Dirleton (north) and Gullane (north west). It ...

, East Lothian the son of James Reid a Solicitor of the Supreme Courts (SSC) and his wife, Kate Scott. Educated at

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...

, he then studied law at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

, graduating BA in 1910 and LLB in 1911. He was admitted as an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

in 1914. He was commissioned into the 8th battalion

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regimen ...

World War I 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 ...

and was seconded to the

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in the First World War. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tanks ...

in 1916, serving in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

and reaching the rank of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. He resigned his commission in 1921. He was appointed a

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 ...

in 1932. He was

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for Stirling and Falkirk from October 1931 until his defeat in November 1935, and for Glasgow Hillhead from June 1937 until September 1948. He served as

Solicitor General for Scotland , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Ruth Charteris QC.png , incumbent = Ruth Charteris KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , department = Crown Office and ...

from June 1936 until June 1941, and as

Lord Advocate , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Dorothy Bain QC.png , incumbent = Dorothy Bain KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , appointer = Monarch on the advice ...

from June 1941 until July 1945, and was appointed a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...

in 1941. From 1945 to 1948 he was

Dean of the Faculty of Advocates The Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, also known as the Dean of Faculty, is the head of the Faculty of Advocates, the independent body for advocates in Scotland. The Dean is elected by the whole membership. List of deans of Faculty * 1582 to ??? ...

. In 1948 he was appointed as a

Lord of Appeal in Ordinary 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 of ...

and received a Law Life Peerage as Baron Reid, of

in East Lothian. He sat as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary until 1975. He was one of very few people to be appointed 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 ...

straight from the Bar, without any intervening judicial experience. Reid was appointed a Companion of Honour in 1967. He died in London on 29 March 1975.

Family

In 1933 he married Mrs Esther Mary Brierley (née Nelson), a widow. They did not have any children.

Cases decided

*''

Bonnington Castings Ltd v Wardlaw Bonnington is a dispersed village and civil parish on the northern edge of the Romney Marsh in Ashford District of Kent, England. The village is located to the south of the town of Ashford on the B2067 (Hamstreet to Hythe road). Bonnington ...

'' 956AC 613, 9562 WLR 707, 9561 All ER 615 *''

Overseas Tankship (UK) Ltd v Morts Dock and Engineering Co Ltd ''Overseas Tankship (UK) Ltd v Morts Dock and Engineering Co Ltd'',. commonly known as ''Wagon Mound (No. 1)'', is a landmark tort law case, which imposed a remoteness rule for causation in negligence. The Privy Council held that a party can be ...

'' aka (''Wagon Mound (No. 1)'')

961 Year 961 (Roman numerals, CMLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 6 – Siege of Chandax: Byzantine forces under Nikephoro ...

1 All ER 404 *''

Scruttons Ltd v Midland Silicones Ltd is a leading House of Lords case on privity of contract. It was a test case in which it was sought to establish a basis upon which stevedores could claim the protection of exceptions and limitations contained in a bill of lading contract to whi ...

962 Year 962 ( CMLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * December – Arab–Byzantine wars – Sack of Aleppo: A Byzantine e ...

AC 446 * '' Shaw v DPP''

AC 220 * ''

Ridge v Baldwin ''Ridge v Baldwin'' 964AC 40 was a UK labour law case heard by the House of Lords. The decision extended the doctrine of natural justice (procedural fairness in judicial hearings) into the realm of administrative decision making. As a result, th ...

'', 964AC 40 * ''

Rookes v. Barnard ''Rookes v Barnard'' 964Case citation#England and Wales, AC 1129 is a UK labour law and English tort law case and the leading case in English law on punitive damages and was a turning point in judicial activism against trade unions. The case ...

'' 964AC 1129 *''

Beswick v Beswick was a landmark English contract law case on privity of contract and specific performance. The Lords, overruling the decision of Lord Denning in the Court of Appeal, ruled that a person who was not party to a contract had no independent standin ...

968 Year 968 ( CMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Emperor Nikephoros II receives a Bulgarian embassy led by Prince Boris (th ...

AC 58 *'' Madzimbamuto v Lardner-Burke'',

969 Year 969 ( CMLXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 1st millennium, the 69th ...

1 AC 645 *''

Dorset Yacht Co Ltd v Home Office is a leading case in English tort law. It is a House of Lords decision on negligence and marked the start of a rapid expansion in the scope of negligence in the United Kingdom by widening the circumstances in which a court was likely to find a d ...

970 Year 970 ( CMLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 970th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' designations, the 970th year of the 1st millennium, the 70th yea ...

AC 1004 *'' McGhee v National Coal Board''

972 Year 972 ( CMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor John I Tzimiskes divides the Bulgarian territories, recent ...

3 All ER 1008 * '' Knuller v. DPP'' Knuller (Publishing, Printing and Promotions) Ltd. v. DPP

973 Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...

A.C. 435 at 456, 56 Cr.App.R. 633 at 637

A.C. 435 *'' Norwich Pharmacal Co. v Customs and Excise Commissioners''

974 Year 974 ( CMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Battle of Danevirke: Emperor Otto II defeats the rebel forces of King Harald I, who ha ...

AC 133

Selected judgments

In Shaw v DPP, (1961) UKHL 1 rendered on 4 May 1961, Reid said, In the same case, he went on to say:

References

External links

*
UK Parliamentary Archives, The Reid Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, James Baron Reid 1890 births 1975 deaths 20th-century Scottish judges Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War I Deans of the Faculty of Advocates Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Hillhead Law lords Lord Advocates Reid, James Scott Cumberland Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Stirling constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Churchill wartime government, 1940–1945 People educated at Edinburgh Academy People from East Lothian Politics of Falkirk (council area) 20th-century King's Counsel Royal Scots officers Senior Lords of Appeal in Ordinary Solicitors General for Scotland UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs who were granted peerages Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs Ministers in the Churchill caretaker government, 1945 Ministers in the Chamberlain wartime government, 1939–1940 Ministers in the Chamberlain peacetime government, 1937–1939 Life peers created by George VI