James Scott Cumberland Reid, Baron Reid, (30 July 1890 – 29 March 1975) was a Scottish Unionist politician and judge. His reputation is as one of the most outstanding judges of the 20th century.

Life

He was born on 30 July 1890 in Drem,

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

, the son of James Reid, a Solicitor of the Supreme Courts (SSC), and his wife, Kate Scott. Educated at Edinburgh Academy, he then studied law at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

, graduating BA in 1910 and LLB in 1911. He was admitted as 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 ...

in 1914. He was commissioned into the 8th battalion

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment line infantry, of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of England ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and was seconded to the Machine Gun Corps in 1916, serving in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

and reaching the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. He resigned his commission in 1921. He was appointed a

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1932. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Stirling and Falkirk from October 1931 until his defeat in November 1935, and for Glasgow Hillhead from June 1937 until September 1948. He served as Solicitor General for Scotland from June 1936 until June 1941, and as

Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (), is the principal legal adviser of both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolution, devolved powers of the Scottish P ...

from June 1941 until July 1945, and was appointed a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

in 1941. From 1945 to 1948 he was Dean of the Faculty of Advocates. In 1948 he was appointed as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary and received a Law Life Peerage as Baron Reid, of Drem in

. He sat as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary until 1975. He was one of very few people to be appointed a

Law Lord Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

straight from the Bar, without any intervening judicial experience. Reid was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 1967. He died in London on 29 March 1975.

Family

In 1933 he married Mrs Esther Mary Brierley (née Nelson), a widow. They did not have any children.

Cases decided

*'' Bonnington Castings Ltd v Wardlaw'' 956AC 613, 9562 WLR 707, 9561 All ER 615 *'' Overseas Tankship (UK) Ltd v Morts Dock and Engineering Co Ltd'' aka (''Wagon Mound (No. 1)'') 9611 All ER 404 *'' Scruttons Ltd v Midland Silicones Ltd'' 962AC 446 * '' Shaw v DPP'' 962AC 220 * ''

Ridge v Baldwin ''Ridge v Baldwin'' 964AC 40 was a UK labour law case heard by the Judicial functions of the House of Lords, House of Lords. The decision extended the doctrine of natural justice (procedural fairness in judicial hearings) into the realm of ad ...

'', 964AC 40 * '' Rookes v. Barnard'' 964AC 1129 *'' Beswick v Beswick'' 968AC 58 *'' Madzimbamuto v Lardner-Burke'', 9691 AC 645 *'' Dorset Yacht Co Ltd v Home Office'' 970AC 1004 *'' McGhee v National Coal Board'' 9723 All ER 1008 * '' Knuller v. DPP'' Knuller (Publishing, Printing and Promotions) Ltd. v. DPP 973A.C. 435 at 456, 56 Cr.App.R. 633 at 637 973A.C. 435 *'' Norwich Pharmacal Co. v Customs and Excise Commissioners'' 974AC 133

Selected judgments

In Shaw v DPP, (1961) UKHL 1 rendered on 4 May 1961, Reid said, In the same case, he went on to say:

References

External links

*
UK Parliamentary Archives, The Reid Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, James Baron Reid 1890 births 1975 deaths 20th-century Scottish judges Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War I Deans of the Faculty of Advocates Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Hillhead Law lords Lord advocates Reid, James Scott Cumberland Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Stirling constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Churchill wartime government, 1940–1945 People educated at Edinburgh Academy Nobility from East Lothian Politics of Falkirk (council area) 20th-century King's Counsel Royal Scots officers Senior lords of appeal in ordinary Solicitors general for Scotland UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs who were granted peerages Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs Ministers in the Churchill caretaker government, 1945 Ministers in the Chamberlain wartime government, 1939–1940 Ministers in the Chamberlain peacetime government, 1937–1939 Life peers created by George VI