Sir John Arthur Dalziel Owen (22 November 1925 – 9 December 2010) was a British barrister and High Court judge.

Biography

Born in Stockport, John Owen was the son of R. J. Owen and Mrs O. B. Owen. He came from a legal background: both of his grandfathers and his uncle were lawyers. He was educated at

Solihull School Solihull School is a coeducational independent day school in Solihull, West Midlands, England. Founded in 1560, it is the oldest school in the town and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. History In 1560 the reve ...

, then went to

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

, before being called up for military service during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. After a brief stint in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

, he was commissioned into the

2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles The 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army before being transferred to the British Army on India's independence in 1947. The 4th Battalion joined the Indian Army as the 5th Ba ...

, and served in India in the run-up to Partition. Returning to Brasenose in 1947, he read Law and graduated MA and BCL (1949), and obtained a half-blue in athletics. Owen was called to the Bar by

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 Wa ...

in 1951, and joined the Midland and Oxford Circuit. Practicing from Arthur Evan James’s chambers in Temple Row, Birmingham, Owen built a mixed practice, but was predominantly engaged in criminal work. He became 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 or ...

in 1970, and joined Michael Davis QC's chambers at Harcourt Buildings,

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called church (building), churches), Hindui ...

. He was a Deputy Chairman of

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

Quarter Sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

from 1967 to 1971 and a Recorder from 1972 to 1984. He was elected 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 ca ...

of Gray's Inn in 1980, and was Deputy Leader of Midland and Oxford Circuit from 1980 to 1984. He was also a member of the Senate of the Inns of Court and the Bar from 1977 to 1980 and Chairman of the West Midlands Area Mental Health Review Tribunal from 1972 to 1980. Owen was appointed a Circuit Judge sitting at the

Central Criminal Court A Central Criminal Court refers to major legal court responsible for trying crimes within a given jurisdiction. Such courts include: *The name by which the Crown Court is known when it sits in the City of London *Central Criminal Court of England ...

in 1984, and a Justice of the High Court in 1986. Receiving the customary

knighthood 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 Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

, he was assigned to the

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

. He was Presiding Judge of the Midland and Oxford Circuit from 1988 to 1992. He retired from the High Court in 2000. A member of the

General Synod of the Church of England The General Synod is the tricameral deliberative and legislative organ of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church ...

for many years, Owen was

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

Diocese of Derby The Diocese of Derby is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, roughly covering the same area as the County of Derbyshire. Its diocesan bishop is the Bishop of Derby whose seat ( cathedra) is at Derby Cathedral. The diocesa ...

from 1973 to 1980, of the

Diocese of Coventry The Diocese of Coventry is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Coventry, who sits at Coventry Cathedral in Coventry, and is assisted by one suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Warwick. The dioc ...

from 1973 to 1980, and of the

Diocese of Southwell The Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York, headed by the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham. It covers all the English county of Nottinghamshire and a few parishes in South Yorkshire. It is b ...

from 1979 to 1980. He was Dean of the Arches Court of Canterbury, Auditor of the

Chancery Court of York The Chancery Court of York is an ecclesiastical court for the Province of York of the Church of England. It receives appeals from consistory courts of dioceses within the province. The presiding officer, the Official Principal and Auditor, ha ...

, and

Master of the Faculties The Master of the Faculties is a judicial officer in the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury and has some important powers in English law, in particular the appointment and regulation of public notaries. Since 1873 the position has ...

from 1980 to 2000. In 1993, he received a Lamberth

DCL DCL or may refer to: * 650 in Roman numerals, see 650 (disambiguation) Computers * Data Center Linux, see Open Source Development Labs * Data Control Language, a subset of SQL * Dialog Control Language, a language and interpreter within AutoC ...

. He helped to establish the first degree course in

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

in Britain since the Reformation at

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

and, in retirement, obtained a LLM from the university in 1996.

Notable cases

In 1973, Owen defended Father Patrick Fell, a Catholic priest accused of being an IRA commander. As a judge, in 1985, he tried the 12th Duke of Manchester for fraud against the

National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it ...

. In 1991, he was the first at first instance in the landmark case R v R, which saw the end of the marital rape exemption. In 1992, he was a member of the Court of Appeal in R v Brown, whose decision was upheld by the House of Lords. In 2000, he tried the farmer Tony Martin for the murder of a burglar.

Family

Owen married, in 1952, Valerie ( Ethell). They had two children, one son and one daughter. Their daughter, Melissa Clare Owen (born 12 November 1960), was married, from 1985 to 1997, to The Hon. Michael-John Ulick Knatchbull, a son of John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne and

Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma Patricia Edwina Victoria Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma, Lady Brabourne, (née Mountbatten; 14 February 1924 – 13 June 2017) was a British peeress and a third cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. She was the elder daughter of Admiral ...

References

* https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sir-john-owen-xbmgv839533 * https://www.theguardian.com/law/2011/jan/17/sir-john-owen-obituary * https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/law-obituaries/8236317/Sir-John-Owen.html * https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/sir-john-owen-judge-who-tried-case-which-led-change-law-rape-and-also-presided-over-tony-martin-trial-2193229.html * https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540891.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-29089?rskey=FAJNtL&result=1 {{DEFAULTSORT:Owen, John Knights Bachelor 2010 deaths People from Stockport People educated at Solihull School Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Royal Navy personnel of World War II British Indian Army officers Members of Gray's Inn English King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Queen's Bench Division judges Circuit judges (England and Wales) 1925 births