Sir William Anglin Scarlett (1777
accessed September 2009–1831) was Chief Justice of Jamaica known for his love of justice.

Early life

Scarlett was the son of Robert Scarlett who owned property in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. His elder brother,

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

, was to become Attorney General. He was educated in

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

and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where he graduated

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in 1802.

Career

Scarlett became Chief Justice of Jamaica in 1821.Gentleman's Magazine
Vol. 102, Part 1, accessed September 2009 In 1823, Scarlett successfully descended a man against a charge of libel brought by the

Duke of Manchester Duke of Manchester is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the current senior title of the House of Montagu. It was created in 1719 for the politician Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester. Manchester Parish in Jamaica was named afte ...

, the Governor of Jamaica. Scarlett was successful, but even as a Chief Justice, was abused as he left. He was involved again in another case where he opposed the governor. Scarlett released prisoners but they were rearrested and exiled from Jamaica. Scarlett's decision was in time upheld by the British Parliament. The case began when

Louis Celeste Lecesne Louis Celeste Lecesne (c. 1796 or 1798 – 22 November 1847), also known as Lewis Celeste Lecesne, was an anti-slavery activist from the Caribbean islands. Lecesne was on a committee to improve the rights of free men of colour. He was arrested ...

and John Escoffery were arrested on 7 October 1823 under the Alien Act by a warrant of the

, the Governor of Jamaica. They were considered by the Attorney General,

William Burge William Burge (1786 – 12 November 1849) was a British lawyer and Privy Councillor. Biography William Burge matriculated at Wadham College, Oxford in 1803 and was admitted to the Inner Temple being called to the bar in 1808. He then joined the ...

to be of a dangerous character and to be aliens as they were claimed to be Haitians. Luckily they had time to raise a writ of

Habeas Corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...

in the Supreme Court of Jamaica Scarlett released them, but it took Parliament to uphold his decision. Scarlett was knighted in 1829.

Personal life

In 1809, Scarlett married Mary Williams of Luana estate in St. Elizabeth. He had two sons, Robert William and James Williams Scarlett.

Death

Scarlett died in 1831. His obituary noted that he had been ill and that even his detractors noted his "love of justice". His wife died the following year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarlett, William Anglin 1831 deaths 1777 births Colony of Jamaica judges Chief justices of Jamaica 19th-century Jamaican judges