James Craufurd, Lord Ardmillan (12 September 1805 – 7 September 1876) was a Scottish judge.

Background and education

Born at

Havant Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England. Nearby places include Portsmouth to the south-west, Southampton to the west, Waterlooville to north, Chichester to the east and Hayling Island to the south. The wider borough ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, he was eldest son of Jane, eldest daughter of John Leslie, and Major Archibald Clifford Blackwell Craufurd of

Ardmillan Ardmillan (, IPA: �aːɾʲtʲˈaˈvɯːɫ̪ɪn is a mainly residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland. The area developed during the mid to late Victorian era as Edinburgh expanded and many of the present tenement flats and houses date from this ...

. He was educated at the

Ayr Academy Ayr Academy (Scottish Gaelic: ''Acadamaidh Inbhir Àir'') is an 11–18 non-denominational secondary school situated within the Craigie Estate area at University Avenue in Ayr, South Ayrshire. It is the sixth largest secondary school in South Ayr ...

and the

Royal High School, Edinburgh The Royal High School (RHS) of Edinburgh is a co-educational school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland. It serves around 1,400 pupils drawn from four feeder pr ...

. He attend the universities of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and

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 ...

. In 1829 he passed his examination in Roman and Scots law, and became an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

. He temporarily settled in Edinburgh, "James Craufurd, advocate" being listed as the owner of 2 Doune Terrace on the Moray Estate in Edinburgh's fashionable west end in 1833.

Early career

His progress at the bar was not rapid, but he nevertheless acquired a considerable criminal business both in the

Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary () is the Supreme Courts of Scotland, supreme Scottish criminal law, criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a court of first instance, trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Cour ...

and in the church courts. He did not have much civil business, although he could address juries very effectively. On 14 March 1849 he became

Sheriff of Perth The Sheriff of Perth was historically a royal official, appointed for life, who was responsible for enforcing justice in Perth, Scotland. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the Jacobite upri ...

, and four years later, 16 November 1853, was appointed

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 ...

under the administration of

George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (28 January 178414 December 1860), styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a British statesman, diplomat and landowner, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite politician and specialist in f ...

Lord of session

He was nominated to the post of a Judge of the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...

on 10 January 1855, when he took the courtesy title of Lord Ardmillan, after the name of his paternal estate. On 16 June in the same year he was also appointed a

Lord of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary () is the Supreme Courts of Scotland, supreme Scottish criminal law, criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a court of first instance, trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Cour ...

, and held these two places until his death. His speeches and other literary utterances are not great performances, and his lectures to young men on ecclesiastical dogmas are open to hostile criticism, but they bear the cardinal merit of sincerity and are not without literary polish. In the court of justiciary his speeches were effective and eloquent of expression, which he had cultivated by a rather discursive study of English and Scotch poetical literature.

Famous judgements

The best remembered of his judgments is that which he delivered in connection with the well-known Yelverton case, when, on 3 July 1862, acting as lord ordinary of the outer house of session, he pronounced against the legality of the supposed marriage between Maria Theresa Longworth and Major William Charles Yelverton (Cases in Court of Session, Longworth v. Yelverton, 1863, pp. 93–116; SHAW, Digest, p. 97, &c.).

Family

He married in 1834 Theodosia (1813-1883), daughter of James Balfour, known before her marriage as Beauty Balfour. Craufurd died of stomach cancer at his residence, 18 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, in 1876. His wife survived him for seven years and died in 1883, aged 70. His sister Margeurite, born 22 March 1818, married Aimé-Félix Reynaud (1808–1876) a French naval officer (ultimately vice admiral). James and Theodosia are buried together in a simple grave in the south-west corner of St Cuthberts Churchyard in

Arms

References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Craufurd, James 1805 births 1876 deaths People educated at Ayr Academy People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Glasgow Members of the Faculty of Advocates Scottish sheriffs

Solicitors general for Scotland Deaths from stomach cancer 19th-century Scottish judges