Sir John Williams (10 February 1777 – 15 September 1846) was an English Whig politician, lawyer and

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

, known for overseeing the 1830s trials of the

Tolpuddle Martyrs The Tolpuddle Martyrs were six agricultural labourers from the village of Tolpuddle in Dorset, England, who were arrested and tried in 1834 for swearing a secret oath as members of a friendly society. Led by George Loveless, the group had ...

(''

R v Lovelass and Others ''R v Lovelass and Others'' (1834) 172 ER 1380 is a formative case in the history of UK labour law. It saw the Tolpuddle Martyrs, farm workers who wished to form a union to prevent wage cuts, convicted and deported to Australia. It triggered prot ...

''), and the Flash Female Button Makers Union. John Williams was educated at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. He was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

at a by-election in March 1822, and held the seat until the 1826 general election, when he was returned on 9 June for

Ilchester Ilchester is a village and civil parish, situated on the River Yeo or Ivel, north of Yeovil, in the English county of Somerset. Originally a Roman town, and later a market town, Ilchester has a rich medieval history and was a notable settleme ...

. However, that result was overturned on 22 February 1827 after an

election petition An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

, and Williams did not return to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

until February 1830, when he was returned for

Winchelsea Winchelsea () is a town in the county of East Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately south west of Rye and north east of Hastings. The current town, which was founded in 1288, replaced an earli ...

at a by-election. He held that seat until the borough was disenfranchised at the 1832 general election. He was made 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 Easter Term 1827. On 28 February 1834 he was made a serjeant-at-law and raised to the bench as one of the puisne barons of the Court of Exchequer, succeeding Sir John Bayley; he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

on 16 April 1834. On 29 April 1834 he transferred to 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 ...

puisne justice Puisne judge and puisne justice () are terms for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. The term comes from a combination of the two French words, (since, later) and (born) which have been combined as or ; meaning ...

, exchanging places with

Sir James Parke James Parke, 1st Baron Wensleydale PC (22 March 1782 – 25 February 1868) was a British barrister and judge. After an education at The King's School, Macclesfield and Trinity College, Cambridge he studied under a special pleader, before be ...

. He died on 14 September 1846 and was succeeded by Sir William Erle.

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, John 1777 births 1846 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Lincoln UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 Politics of Lincoln, England 19th-century English judges Serjeants-at-law (England) Barons of the Exchequer Knights Bachelor