Raymond Romain, Comte de Sèze or Desèze (26 September 17502 May 1828) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However ...

. Together with François Tronchet and Malesherbes, he defended

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

, when the king was brought before the Convention for trial.

Life

Raymond de Sèze was born in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...

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, and studied in the famous law school of that city. He gained a reputation for remarkable passion and persuasiveness, and came to prominence in 1789 when he defended the Baron de Bensenval against charges of high treason. When, at forty-four, he was called out of retirement to aid the last push of

's defence, he was considered one of the best lawyers in the kingdom. Though he had to prepare his defence arguments in a short amount of time, his brilliance shone through in a first draft that, although moving, Louis rejected as too rhetorical, saying, "I do not want to play on their (the Convention's) feelings". When the time for the real defence came, despite having had no sleep for over four days, he pleaded the king's case for three hours, arguing eloquently yet discreetly that the revolution spare his life. Beginning with a description of why the charges were invalid (under the terms of the constitution of 1791 Louis, as king, was immune from prosecution), he attacked the right of Convention to stand as judge and jury. Finally, he moved to a rejection of the charges in the ''acte enonciatif'' drawn up by the constitution charge by charge, with a royalist history of the revolution, portraying Louis as 'the restorer of French Liberty". He finished, like many of the set-piece speeches of the revolution, with an appeal to history:

Jean-Paul Marat Jean-Paul Marat (; born Mara; 24 May 1743 – 13 July 1793) was a French political theorist, physician, and scientist. A journalist and politician during the French Revolution, he was a vigorous defender of the '' sans-culottes'', a radica ...

, the ''démagogue'' of the ''sans-culottes'', was favourably impressed, and declared: "de Séze read a long speech made with a great deal of art". The Commune, the most violent of the factions at the time, described the speech as "very adroit". Nevertheless, the case was lost, and the king was sent to the

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at t ...

. de Sèze himself was also imprisoned during the revolution, but he managed to elude the scaffold. After release upon the fall of

Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

, he disappeared from public life, serving neither the

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nor the

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

ic government, both of which he saw as illegitimate. Upon the return of the

Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spani ...

he was made a peer, as well as a judge and a member of the

French Academy French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

, before dying at the age of seventy eight.

References

*''The King's Trial (Louis XVI vs The French Revolution)'', David P. Jordan, University of California Press, Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Edition. Copyright 1979, 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Deseze, Raymond 1750 births 1828 deaths Lawyers from Bordeaux Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration 18th-century French lawyers Deeze, Raymond Members of the Académie Française Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery State ministers of France 19th-century French judges