William Ballantine
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Serjeant William Ballantine SL (3 January 1812 – 9 January 1887) was an English
Serjeant-at-law A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writ ...
, a legal position defunct since the legal reforms of the 1870s.


Early career

Born in Howland Street,
Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road tub ...
in Camden, London, the son of a police-magistrate, Ballantine was educated at St Paul's School, and called to the
Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...
in 1834. He joined the Criminal Court and travelled the judicial 'Home Circuit', which necessitated him attending courts in
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
, Kent,
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
,
Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
and
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. As a young man he had a wide familiarity with dramatic and literary society, meeting many writers, including
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
,
William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel '' Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and t ...
and
Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...
, and this background helped to obtain for him a large legal practice, particularly in criminal cases. In the late 1840s, Ballantine became known as a formidable cross-examiner, having become involved in several famous cases, where he was able to display these skills. His great rival at during this period was Serjeant Parry (1816–1880).


Serjeant-at-Law

Ballantine became a Serjeant-at-law in 1856, being then entitled to wear the white coif or cap of that rank (see illustration). He was one of the last Serjeants in the courts, that title and position being abolished in the judicial reforms of 1873. During the 1860s, he took on a number of high-profile cases.


Mordaunt divorce trial

Ballantine served as
Counsel A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues, particularly in legal matters. It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of ''lawyer''. The word ''counsel'' can also mean advice given ...
for Sir Charles Mordaunt in the then notorious divorce case against his wife. Lady Mordaunt, who, much younger than her husband, informed him that he was not the father of her child. She admitted to him that she had committed
adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
with a number of men, including
the Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers o ...
, 'often, and in open day.' It became clear that because of these revelations that the Prince of Wales would have to be summoned to court to give evidence in the case. Although he could be
subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...
ed, he could not be forced to give evidence;
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
, his mother, advised him not to attend the court. However, the Prince agreed to attend the court, and to be questioned. After delicate questioning by Lady Mordaunt's counsel, the Prince denied that 'any improper familiarity or criminal act' had taken place between himself and Lady Mordaunt. It was generally believed that by stating this the Prince had
perjured Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...
himself. Ballantine, as counsel for Lord Mordaunt, the
plaintiff A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the p ...
, was entitled to cross-examine the Prince of Wales. Instead, in an attempt to save the Prince from any embarrassment, he declared that he had no questions for His Royal Highness, thus saving the Prince's honour. However, Ballantine lost the case because he had failed to convince the jury that Lady Mordaunt was guilty.


Retirement

In the early 1880s, Ballantine retired from the law in order to write and travel, publishing several volumes of reminiscences. His interest in the theatre and journalism made him a familiar sight around London. Although he was recognised as an incisive cross-examiner, Ballantine was not regarded by his peers as being 'a model legal mind.' The ''Law Times'', in a brief notice, stated that Ballantine "left behind him scarcely any lesson, even in his own poor biography, which the rising generation could profitably learn." But in the same issue there is a full obituary with a detailed description of his life and career, ending with " he had an individuality of character which gave him a position almost unique in the estimation of the public. His intimate acquaintance with human nature made him an excellent prosecutor or counsel for the defence in criminal trials. He was a skilful cross-examiner, an amusing speaker, and a great adept in the art of penetrating the motives and designs of criminals." He died at
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on 9 January 1887, aged 75 years. Ballantine's private life was considered
Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...
; and though he earned large sums, he died poor. Barrister and politician Sir Edward Clarke wrote that Ballantine spent the latter part of his life "in exile at Boulogne, only being saved from poverty by the allowance made him by his son, which was generously supplemented by six members of the Bar".


Family

On 4 December 1841, he married Eliza, daughter of Henry Gyles of London. The DNB reports that he left no issue, but a variety of other sourcesClarke pgs 81-82 record that he was the father of William Henry Walter Ballantine, an attorney on the
South Eastern Circuit The Circuit Court ( ga, An Chúirt Chuarda) of Ireland is an intermediate level court of local and limited jurisdiction which hears both civil and criminal matters. On the criminal side the Circuit Court hears criminal matters tried on indictmen ...
and a Member of Parliament.


Other cases

Among Ballantine's other notable cases were: *his successful prosecution of
Franz Muller Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see ...
for the murder of Mr. Briggs in 1864, *his successful prosecution of
Madame Rachel Sarah Rachel Russell or Leverson or Levison, best known as Madame Rachel (c.1814 – 12 October 1880), was a British criminal and con artist in Victorian-era London during the late 19th century. She operated a prominent beauty salon from which sh ...
for fraud in 1868, *his skilful defence of the
Tichborne claimant The Tichborne case was a legal ''cause célèbre'' that captivated Victorian England in the 1860s and 1870s. It concerned the claims by a man sometimes referred to as Thomas Castro or as Arthur Orton, but usually termed "the Claimant", to be t ...
in 1871, and *his defence of the
Gaekwad Gaekwad (also spelt Gaikwar and Gaikwad; mr, Gāyǎkǎvāḍǎ) is a surname native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. The surname is found among the Marathas, Kolis and in Scheduled castes. It is also a common surname among Bharadis, Dhor, an ...
(Gaekwar) Maharaja of
Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...
in 1875, his fee in this last case being one of the largest ever known at the time.


Notes


References

* * *'In Vanity Fair' by Roy T Matthews and Peter Mellini. Scolar Press, London and the University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles. (1982) pgs 115-6 *Foster, Joseph. ''Men At The Bar.'' London: Hazell, Watson and Viney, 1885. * Clarke, Sir Edward. ''The Story of My Life.'' London, J. Murray, 1918.


External links


Some Experiences of a Barrister's Life
a
The Open Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballantine, William People educated at St Paul's School, London People from Camden Town Serjeants-at-law (England) 1812 births 1887 deaths 19th-century English lawyers