Sir George Deas, Lord Deas (1804–1887) was a 19th century Scottish judge.

Life

Deas, son was born in 1804. Sir David Deas, naval medical officer, was his brother. He acquired the rudiments of knowledge in various schools in Falkland, Milnathort in Kinross, and Perth, and in 1817 entered a

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's office in Perth. Having spent some time there, and also in the office of a writer in

Cupar Cupar ( ; ) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fife, and the ...

, he came to

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, where he pursued his legal studies, and also attended various classes at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

obtaining prizes in

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

moral philosophy Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied et ...

, and law. He was called to the Scottish bar in 1828, where he soon acquired considerable practice. In 1833, "George Deas, advocate", is listed as living at 33 Scotland Street in Edinburgh's

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, ground floor and basement accommodation in a high quality tenement. In 1840 he received the appointment of

Advocate depute The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service () is the independent public prosecutor, prosecution service for Scotland, and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by Charles III of the United Kingd ...

, an office to which he was reappointed in 1846, and which he held until 1850. He was made Sheriff of Ross and Cromarty in 1850 and

Solicitor General for Scotland His Majesty's Solicitor General for Scotland () is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Lord Advocate, whose duty is to advise the Scottish Government on Scots Law. They are also responsible for the Crown Office and P ...

from 1851. He was created a permanent lord ordinary of the court of session, with the judicial title of Lord Deas, and a judge of exchequer in May 1853, and a

Lord Commissioner of Justiciary The senators of the College of Justice in Scotland are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court ...

in April 1854. He was knighted in 1858. He resigned his judicial roles in 1885 As an advocate he was distinguished rather by strong logical faculty than by eloquence. He proved himself an acute and painstaking judge; and though he was seldom deterred from making a caustic remark by the fear of giving pain, his disposition is said to have been kindly. He spoke with a broad Scots accent. He was the Judge who presided over the case of Mary Timney, the last woman publicly hanged in Scotland. Deas married, first, in 1838, Margaret, only daughter of Sylvester Reid, and secondly, in 1857, the widow of Sir Benjamin Fonseca Outram, CB, MD. Pittendreich House, Lasswade, was built in 1857 for Deas, and he also owned Hartwoodhill estate in North Lanarkshire. In 1860 he lived at 3 Moray Place on the Moray Estate in

. He died on 7 February 1887 at his residence, 32 Heriot Row, Edinburgh. He is buried against the east wall of

Warriston Cemetery Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in List of graveyards and cemeteries in Edinburgh, Edinburgh. It lies in Warriston, one of the northern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the then newly-formed Edinburgh Cemetery Company, and o ...

in north Edinburgh, near the sealed northern gate. With him lie his wife, Dame Sally Outram (1818–1899) and son, Francis Deas

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(1839–1874) an advocate and amateur microscopist.

Arms

References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Deas, George 1804 births 1887 deaths People from Fife Deas Members of the Faculty of Advocates 19th-century Scottish judges Solicitors general for Scotland Scottish sheriffs