Sir John Fitzjames (c. 1465/70 – c. 1542) was

Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

from 1526 until 1539. Sir John was a nephew of

Richard Fitzjames Richard FitzJames (died 1522) was an English academic and administrator who became successively Bishop of Rochester, Bishop of Chichester, and Bishop of London. Origins Born about 1442, he was the son of John FitzJames (died 1476), who lived at ...

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

during the Hunne case. Sir John had also been

Recorder of Bristol A recorder is a judicial officer in England and Wales and some other common law jurisdictions. England and Wales In the courts of England and Wales, the term ''recorder'' has two distinct meanings. The senior circuit judge of a borough or city i ...

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 ...

and

Chief Baron of the Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who pre ...

. According to

William Roper William Roper ( – 4 January 1578) was an English lawyer and member of Parliament. The son of a Kentish gentleman, he married Margaret, daughter of Sir Thomas More. He wrote a highly regarded biography of his father-in-law. Life William Roper ...

's ''Life of Sir

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

'', when

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 ...

Thomas Audley was challenged by More as to the sufficiency of the

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a legal person, person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felony, felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concep ...

under which he was condemned at his trial for treason on July 1, 1535, the Chancellor (who, according to Roper, wished to avoid all the blame for More's condemnation being imputed to himself) consulted with Fitzjames, "who, like a wise man answered, 'My Lords all, by St. Julian,' (that was ever his oath) 'I must needs confess that if the

act of parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

be not unlawful, then is the indictment in my conscience not insufficient,' whereupon the Lord Chancellor said to the rest of the Lords, 'Lo, my Lords, lo! you hear what my Lord Chief Justice saith,' and so immediately gave judgment against him." Later in that same month, when the King's chief minister,

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...

, wanted to halt the export of coin he decided to consult Fitzjames on whether a

proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

could be used for this. Cromwell asked him what the King could do if "there wer no law nor statute made alreadye for any suche purpose", to which Fitzjames replied that a proclamation was "of as good effecte as any law made by parlyament or otherwyse". Cromwell was "veray gladde to here" Fitzjames' answer. When the Reformation Parliament was prorogued in 1536 Fitzjames was rewarded £40 by the King. He married, after 1514, (as her second husband) Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Humphrey Coningsby, Knt., (c1450-1535) Judge of King's Bench, by his spouse Alice Ferriby. She died between November 1545 and May 1546.''The Genealogist'' edited by H. W. Forsyth-Harwood, New Series, vol.xxvi, London, 1910, p.214, - "The Two Coningsbys, Justices of the King's Bench" by G. O. Bellewes.

Notes

References

*Stanford E. Lehmberg, ''The Reformation Parliament, 1529-1536'' (Cambridge University Press, 1970). * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:FitzJames, John 1460s births 1540s deaths Lord chief justices of England and Wales Justices of the King's Bench Chief Barons of the Exchequer 15th-century English lawyers 16th-century English judges Attorneys General for England and Wales