Sir (James) Forrest Fulton (12 July 1846 – 25 June 1926) was a British judge and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician.

Early life

Born in

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariake ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, he was the youngest son of Lieutenant-Colonel James Forrest Fulton and his wife, Fanny née Jessopp. Fulton was educated at Norwich School under his uncle, the Reverend

Augustus Jessopp Augustus Jessopp (20 December 1823 – 12 February 1914) was an English cleric and writer. He spent periods of time as a schoolmaster and then later as a clergyman in Norfolk, England. He wrote regular articles for '' The Nineteenth Century'', ...

before attending the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

. He graduated with a BA degree in 1867 and

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of ...

degree in 1873.

Legal career 1872–1886

Fulton was called to the bar at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

in 1872. Practising on the

South Eastern Circuit The Circuit Court ( ga, An Chúirt Chuarda) of Ireland is an intermediate level court of local and limited jurisdiction which hears both civil and criminal matters. On the criminal side the Circuit Court hears criminal matters tried on indictmen ...

, he held a number of senior legal posts including treasury counsel at the

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...

Sessions, senior counsel to the Post Office and senior counsel to the Treasury at the

Central Criminal Court A Central Criminal Court refers to major legal court responsible for trying crimes within a given jurisdiction. Such courts include: *The name by which the Crown Court is known when it sits in the City of London *Central Criminal Court of England ...

Member of parliament 1886–1892

At the 1885 general election, Fulton was the Conservative Party's candidate to contest the newly created constituency of West Ham North. He was defeated by a margin of 719 votes. A further election was held in 1886, and Fulton stood at West Ham North again. He was elected to the

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons c ...

with a majority of 727 votes. He was described as having "made no particular mark" in parliament, and was unseated at the next general election in 1892, losing to the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

candidate, Archibald Grove, by 33 votes.

Common Serjeant and Recorder of London 1892–1922

On leaving parliament, he was appointed a

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 ...

, and was briefly Recorder of

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. In August 1892 Sir William Charley resigned as

Common Serjeant of London The Common Serjeant of London (full title The Serjeant-at-Law in the Common Hall) is an ancient British legal office, first recorded in 1291, and is the second most senior permanent judge of the Central Criminal Court after the Recorder of Lon ...

and Fulton was appointed his successor. He was knighted in the same year, and made a Lieutenant of the City of London, a Commissioner of the Central Criminal Court, and a Judge of the Mayor's Court of London. While Common Serjeant he presided over the case that led to the conviction of Adolph Beck for fraud in 1896. Eight years later an enquiry established that the conviction was a

miscarriage of justice A miscarriage of justice occurs when a grossly unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Inno ...

, a decision that led to the establishment of the Court of Criminal Appeal. In March 1900 Sir Charles Hall, Recorder of London, died. Fulton was chosen to fill the post later the same month. He was succeeded as

Frederick Albert Bosanquet Sir Frederick Albert Bosanquet, KC, JP (8 February 1837 – 2 November 1923) was a British judge who was Common Serjeant of London, the second most senior permanent judge of the Central Criminal Court after the Recorder of London. Biography F ...

QC. As Recorder Fulton tried the case of Kitty Byron, who was charged with the murder of Arthur Reginald Baker in 1902. Fulton held the Recordership until March 1922, when he resigned due to ill health. He died at his home in Sheringham,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...

, in June 1925, aged 79.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fulton, James Forrest 1845 births 1925 deaths People from Sheringham People educated at Norwich School Alumni of the University of London Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1886–1892 Members of the Middle Temple Common Serjeants of London Recorders of London