Sir Samuel Burgess Ridgway Cooke (16 March 1912 – 12 April 1978) was a British barrister and High Court judge. He served as the second chairman of the Law Commission between 1973 and his death in 1978.

Life and career

Cooke was born in Lancaster, the son of a railway clerk. He was educated at the

Lancaster Royal Grammar School Lancaster Royal Grammar School (LRGS) is a selective grammar school (day and boarding) for boys aged 11–18 in Lancaster, England, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. Old students belong to The Old Lancastrians. The school's sixth form opened to gi ...

and

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of ...

, where he took

Firsts First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number 1 (number), one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, D ...

in both the Classics and Law tripos. He was President of the Cambridge Union in Lent 1934. Cooke was called to the bar by Lincoln's Inn in November 1936, having placed first in the bar final examination and receiving the Certificate of Honour. In 1938 he joined the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, where he contributed to the drafting of the Education Act 1944 and of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947. In 1946, he returned to private practice, joining the chambers of Patrick Devlin KC (later Lord Devlin). In 1947 he served as constitutional adviser to Lord Mountbatten, the Viceroy of India, at the time of Indian independence. He was Junior Counsel to Ministry of Labour and National Service between 1950 and 1960, although most of his practice at the bar consisted of commercial advisory work. He was appointed

Queen'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 1960 and elected 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 ca ...

of Lincoln's Inn in 1966. In 1967, Cooke was appointed a Justice of the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (Englan ...

(assigned to the

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

), receiving the customary

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

. In 1973, he was appointed as the second chairman of the Law Commission. Afflicted by a nervous system disease, Cooke died in office on 12 April 1978.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, Samuel 1912 births 1978 deaths People from Lancaster, Lancashire People educated at Lancaster Royal Grammar School Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Presidents of the Cambridge Union Members of Lincoln's Inn English King's Counsel Queen's Bench Division judges Knights Bachelor 20th-century English lawyers