Sir John Powell (1632 or 1633 – 7 September 1696) was a Welsh judge on the Court of Common Pleas and the

Court of King's Bench The Court of King's Bench, formally known as The Court of the King Before the King Himself, was a court of common law in the English legal system. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century from the '' curia regis'', the King's Bench initi ...

. He presided over the trial of the

Seven Bishops The Seven Bishops were members of the Church of England tried and acquitted for seditious libel in the Court of Kings Bench in June 1688. The very unpopular prosecution of the bishops is viewed as a significant event contributing to the Novemb ...

in 1688. Born in 1632 or 1633, Powell was from Pentre Meurig, Llanwrda in

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. He became a member of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1650, and matriculated at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

. He obtained his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1653 and his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree from

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

in the following year. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1657. Details of his legal practice are unknown until his rapid promotion in April 1686, when he became a serjeant-at-law and was then appointed as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas and knighted. He was soon asked his opinion of the decision in '' Godden v Hales'' that the king could dispense with compliance with Acts of Parliament, and he agreed with the majority view that this was permitted. He was transferred to the

in 1687. In that court, he was one of the judges who imposed a fine of £30,000 upon the Earl of Devonshire, and was the presiding judge at the trial of the

for seditious libel. At this trial, he was opposed to the king's power to suspend laws in ecclesiastical matters, taking the view that there would be no parliament if this was allowed. As a result, he was sidelined after the trial ended in July 1688, returning to the post of a judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1689 after the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

. He was summonsed to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

to explain the fine imposed on the Earl of Devonshire, which was said to be a violation of the principles of

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...

and of the privileges of the peers. He asked the pardon of the House, saying that he had been misled by some books that he looked upon as authorities. Powell built and lived at Broadway Mansion in

Laugharne Laugharne () is a town on the south coast of Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Tâf. The Ancient borough#Charters, ancient borough of Laugharne Township () with its #Laugharne Corporation, Corporation and Charter is a ...

and died in

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

on 7 September 1696. There is a memorial tablet in St Martin's Church, Laugharne where he was buried and which some biographers believe was his place of birth. His son Sir Thomas (1664-1720), of Broadway, Carmarthenshire and Coldbrook, Monmouthshire,Sir Thomas Powell 1st Bart.(c1665-1720), of Broadway, Laugharne, Carm. and Coldbrook, Monmouthshire
History of Parliament Online was attorney-general of the Carmarthen circuit, 1695–1715, Member of Parliament for Monmouth, 1705–8, and for Carmarthenshire, 1710–15. He was created a baronet in 1698, but the title became extinct on the death of his son Herbert in 1721.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, John, Sir 1630s births 1696 deaths Welsh barristers Serjeants-at-law (England) People from Carmarthenshire Members of Gray's Inn Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Justices of the common pleas Justices of the King's Bench 17th-century Welsh lawyers 17th-century Welsh judges