Sir John Campbell Allen (October 1, 1817 – September 27, 1898) was from 1865–1896 a justice of the colonial and then provincial Supreme Court of New Brunswick, serving as

Chief Justice of New Brunswick The Chief Justice of the Province of New Brunswick, Canada holds the highest office within the Province's judicial system. The Chief Justice is a member of the Court of Appeal, the highest court in the Province which includes five other judges plus ...

from 1875 to 1896. He was born in

Kingsclear Parish, New Brunswick Kingsclear is a civil parish in York County, New Brunswick, Canada. For governance purposes it is divided between the city of Fredericton, the Indian reserve of Kingsclear 6, the incorporated rural community of Hanwell, and the local service ...

, a grandson of Isaac Allen, a New Brunswick Supreme Court judge. He studied law in the office of John Simcoe Saunders. He was a member of the New Brunswick House of Assembly from 1856 to 1865, Solicitor General in 1856 to 1857,

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

from 1863 to 1865, and

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

in 1865. In 1873, he gave the majority decision of the New Brunswick Supreme Court in

Dow v. Black Dow v Black is a Canadian constitutional law decision. It was one of the first major cases examining in detail the division of powers between the federal Parliament and the provincial Legislatures, set out in the ''Constitution Act, 1867'' ( ...

, a significant constitutional law case dealing with the federal-provincial division of powers. He held that a provincial statute dealing with municipal taxation was unconstitutional. However, his decision was overturned on appeal by the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Augus ...

, at that time the

court of last resort A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

for the British Empire.

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
1817 births 1898 deaths Canadian Knights Bachelor Lawyers in New Brunswick Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick People from York County, New Brunswick Colony of New Brunswick judges Attorneys General of the Colony of New Brunswick {{Canada-law-bio-stub