Sir John Walter Huddleston (8 September 1815 – 5 December 1890) was an Irish judge, formerly a

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

yer who had established an eminent reputation in various ''

causes célèbres Causes, or causality, is the relationship between one event and another. It may also refer to: * Causes (band), an indie band based in the Netherlands * Causes (company), an online company See also * Cause (disambiguation) {{disambigua ...

''. As a

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

of the

Exchequer of Pleas The Exchequer of Pleas, or Court of Exchequer, was a court that dealt with matters of equity (law), equity, a set of legal principles based on natural law and Common law#History, common law in England and Wales. Originally part of the , or King ...

, he was styled Baron Huddleston, in writing, Huddleston B. Soon after his appointment, the Exchequer was absorbed into the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...

and the style abolished. He sometimes referred to himself as "The last of the Barons."Rigg (2004) Today, the case he presided over that remains famous is ''

Whistler v. Ruskin James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral a ...

'', where his wife and that of Ruskin's counsel sat beside him on the bench.

Personal life

Huddleston was the eldest son of Thomas, a Merchant Navy officer and Alethea née Hichens. He was born and educated in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, attending

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, but he did not graduate. In 1872, he married

Diana de Vere Beauclerk Diana de Vere Beauclerk, Lady Huddleston (10 December 1842 – 1 April 1905) was an English writer. She wrote ''Summer and Winter in Norway'' (1868) and ''True Love'' (1869) under the name Lady Di Beauclerk. Life Lady Diana de Vere Beauclerk ...

(1842–1905), daughter of

William Beauclerk, 9th Duke of St Albans William Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, 9th Duke of St Albans (24 March 1801 – 27 May 1849) was an English aristocrat and cricketer. Early life William Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk was born on 24 March 1801. He was the son of William Beauclerk, 8th Duk ...

. Huddleston enjoyed theatre and

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

. He was well read and fluent in French, giving an oration at the funeral of Pierre Antoine Berryer. He suffered from chronic ill health during the last decade of his life before he died, aged 75, in

South Kensington South Kensington is a district at the West End of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with the advent of the ra ...

on 5 September 1890, with an expressed wish that he be buried with his wife. He was cremated at

Woking Crematorium Woking Crematorium is a crematorium in Woking, a large town in the west of Surrey, England. Established in 1878, it was the first custom-built crematorium in the United Kingdom and is closely linked to the history of cremation in the UK. Locat ...

.
"Nell Gwynne Was Lady 'Di's' Ancestor," ''The Inter Ocean,'' Chicago, June 4, 1905, image 15

She never recovered from the loss of her husband in 1890, and everywhere she went the ashes of the Baron, who was cremated at
Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...
, accompanied her. The small bronze
urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape ...
containing them always rested on a table beside her bed.

Career

He worked for a while at a public school before entering

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1836 to train as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

. He 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 ...

in 1839. Initially practising on the

Oxford circuit The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

specialising in

poor law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

cases, he developed his criminal practice at the

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

quarter sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts that were traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388; they were extended to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535. Scotland establ ...

and at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

, notably in the

prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

of William Palmer. He defended

William Cuffay William Cuffay (1788 – July 1870) was a Chartism, Chartist leader in early Victorian era, Victorian London. Parents William was mixed-race, the son of an English woman from Gillingham, Kent, Juliana Fox, and a man of African heritage, Chatham ...

the chartist in 1848, and secured the acquittal of

Mercy Catherine Newton Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French , from Medieval Latin , "price paid, wages", from Latin , "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social, and legal contexts. In the social and leg ...

, on her third trial for

matricide Matricide (or maternal homicide) is the act of killing one's own mother. Known or suspected matricides * Amastris, queen of Heraclea, was drowned by her two sons in 284 BC. * Cleopatra III of Egypt was assassinated in 101 BC by order of ...

, in 1859.Rigg (1891) He became a QC in 1857 and a

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

of Gray's Inn, being Treasurer in 1859 and 1868. Huddleston made several unsuccessful attempts to enter politics, ultimately being elected as

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Member of Parliament for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

1865 Events January * January 4 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street, in New York City. * January 13 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Fort Fisher – Unio ...

. He lost his seat in

1868 Events January * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsu ...

but won again in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

1874 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War: Battle of Caspe &n ...

. Huddleston was

Judge Advocate of the Fleet The Judge Advocate of the Fleet was an appointed civilian judge who was responsible for the supervision and superintendence of the court martial system in the Royal Navy from 1663 to 2008. History The position dates to the sixteenth century but ...

from 1865 to 1875, alongside appointment as a serjeant-at-law and the receiving of a

knighthood 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 ...

. He was also made a judge of the

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

, which position was almost immediately transferred to the Exchequer and then to the Exchequer Division of the High Court. Huddleston's reputation as a judge never matched his standing as an advocate. As a judge, he was opinionated and unafraid to exert a strong influence on

juries A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make findings of fact, and render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Most trial juries are " petit juries", an ...

. He was reputed to wear colour-coded gloves to court: black for murder, lavender for

breach of promise of marriage Breach of promise is a common-law tort, abolished in many jurisdictions. It was also called breach of contract to marry,N.Y. Civil Rights Act article 8, §§ 80-A to 84. and the remedy awarded was known as heart balm. From at least the Middle ...

and white for more conventional cases. In 1884 Huddleston was judge at

first instance First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

in the leading maritime case of ''

R v. Dudley and Stephens ''R v Dudley and Stephens'' (188414 QBD 273, DCis a leading English criminal case which established a precedent throughout the common law world that necessity is not a defence to a charge of murder. The case concerned survival cannibalism foll ...

'' involving murder,

cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is also well document ...

and the defence of

necessity Necessary or necessity may refer to: Concept of necessity * Need ** An action somebody may feel they must do ** An important task or essential thing to do at a particular time or by a particular moment * Necessary and sufficient condition, in l ...

. He was further central to engineering the judicially approved guilty

verdict In law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. In a bench trial, the judge's decision near the end of the trial is simply referred to as a finding. In England and Wales ...

against the instincts of the jury.Simpson (1984) pp. 195–223

References

Bibliography

* Obituary – ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' 6, 9 & 12 December 1890 * * Rigg, Rev. Metcalfe, E. (2004)
Huddleston, Sir John Walter (1815–1890)
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'', Oxford University Press, accessed 4 July 2007 * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Huddleston, John Walter 19th-century English judges Serjeants-at-law (England) 1815 births 1890 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1874–1880 Politics of Canterbury Justices of the common pleas Barons of the Exchequer Members of Gray's Inn Exchequer Division judges Knights Bachelor English King's Counsel