Sir John Blossett Maule, QC (1818–1889) was a British

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

who served as the first Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales.

Life

The second son of the Solicitor to the Treasury George Maule, Esquire, of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, Maule was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniq ...

. He entered the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

on 13 January 1844, aged twenty-six, 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 ...

on 29 January 1847, and was appointed a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

in 1866. Joseph Foster, ''Men-at-the-bar: a Biographical Hand-list of the Members of the Various Inns of Court, Including Her Majesty's Judges, Etc.'' (London: Reeves and Turner, 1885), p. 72

Frederic Boase Frederic Boase (7 October 1843 – 23 December 1916) was an English librarian and biographer. Family He was born at Lariggan, Penzance, Cornwall to John Josias Arthur Boase (1801–1896), banker, and his wife, Charlotte née Scholl (1802–1873) ...

, '' Modern English Biography: I–Q'' (1897), p. 801. Maule served as

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

of Leeds from 1861 to 1880, when he was appointed as Director of Public Prosecutions. He was Treasurer of his Inn for 1881-1882, was a member of the

Council of Legal Education The Council of Legal Education (CLE) was an English supervisory body established by the four Inns of Court to regulate and improve the legal education of barristers within England and Wales. History The Council was established in 1852 by the Inns ...

,''The Law Times'', vol. 87 (1889), p. 425 was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of 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. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

in December 1882, and retired as Director of Public Prosecutions in 1884.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maule, John Blossett Directors of Public Prosecutions (England and Wales) Lawyers awarded knighthoods Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford English King's Counsel 1818 births 1889 deaths British barristers People educated at Westminster School, London Knights Bachelor 19th-century English lawyers