John Pedder
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Sir John Lewes Pedder (10 February 1784 – 24 March 1859) was an
English Australian English Australians, also known as Anglo-Australians, are Australians whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2021 census, 8,385,928 people, or 33% of the Australian population, stated that they had English ancestry (wh ...
judge, politician and grazier, he was the first Chief Justice of Van Diemen's Land (now
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
).


Early life

Pedder was born in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, the eldest son of John Pedder, a barrister. Pedder junior was educated at Charterhouse and the
Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...
from 1818 where 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 1820. Then he entered Trinity Hall,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, graduating LL.B. in 1822.


Career

Pedder was appointed Chief Justice of Van Diemen's Land on 18 August 1823. Pedder sailed in the ''Hibernia'', arriving in
Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
with his wife Maria, a daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Everett, on 15 March 1824. Also on the ship were Joseph Gellibrand, the first Attorney-General of Van Dieman's land and Saxe Bannister, the first
Attorney-General of New South Wales The attorney general of New South Wales, in formal contexts also attorney-general or attorney general for New South Wales See, e.g. Attorney General for New South Wales v Burns & Ors', ''Leahy v Attorney-General for New South Wales'' and ''Makin ...
. Trial by jury was a contentious issue in the colonies of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land and each were immediately involved. (1975) 5(3)
Adelaide Law Review The ''Adelaide Law Review'' is a scholarly refereed law journal based at the University of Adelaide. It is published twice a year by the Adelaide Law Review Association of the University of Adelaide's Faculty of Law.John Bigge John Thomas Bigge (8 March 1780 – 22 December 1843) was an English judge and royal commissioner. He is mostly known for his inquiry into the British colony of New South Wales published in the early 1820s. His reports favoured a return to the ...
conducted an inquiry from 1819 to 1821 into the colonies of NSW and Van Diemen's Land. Bigge's 1823 report on judicial establishments recommended against trial by a civilian jury, and the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
had narrowly defeated a proposal that juries be introduced for criminal trials, prior to passing the ''
New South Wales Act 1823 The New South Wales Act 1823 ( 4 Geo. 4. c. 96), or New South Wales Jurisdiction Act 1823, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which established the New South Wales Legislative Council and the Supreme Court of New South Wales, i ...
'' which prescribed military juries for criminal trials before the Supreme Court and that convicts could be tried summarily. Nothing was said of the procedure before courts of
quarter session 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 ...
s. Both Gellibrand and Bannister were of the opinion that courts of quarter sessions could not try free persons without juries. On 24 May 1824 Gellibrand in his inaugural address to the Supreme Court, spoke of trial by jury as being "one of the greatest boons conferred by the legislature upon this colony". The issue of trial by jury was first argued before the newly established
Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian States and territories of Australia, State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil law (common law), civil matters, and hears ...
and Chief Justice
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
held that civilian juries were required for Court of Quarter Sessions. Despite his initial address, Gellibrand subsequently vacillated in his views. In July 1825 the issue came before the Supreme Court of Van Diemen's Land, with the Second Law officer of the Crown,
Solicitor-General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...
Alfred Stephen, seeking an order requiring juries to be assembled while Gellibrand as the 1st Law Officer opposed it. Pedder, in a long and weighty judgment took a different view to Forbes, holding that the right to trial by civilian jury was taken away by section 19 of the ''New South Wales Act'' 1823.. As Chief Justice, Pedder was automatically a member of the
Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...
and the Executive Council, which necessitated a very close relationship with Governor Arthur and even led to him being referred to as belonging to the "government party". The Chief Justice should not have been put into such a position, and in 1851, when the new partly elected legislative council was formed, the Chief Justice was no longer one of the government nominee members.
James Fenton James Martin Fenton (born 25 April 1949) is an English poet, journalist and literary critic. He is a former Oxford Professor of Poetry. Life and career Born in Lincoln, Fenton grew up in Lincolnshire and Staffordshire, the son of Canon Jo ...
, in referring to this, says that, although Pedder was "a very useful member of the old council", he was "now wisely removed from the disturbing arena of political strife". On 19 July 1854 Pedder had a paralytic seizure while on the bench, and shortly afterwards retired on a pension of £1500 a year under an act passed in the previous May. Pedder's wife died on 23 October 1855 after suffering from paralysis. Pedder returned to
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and died in
Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
on 24 March 1859. He was knighted in 1838. As a judge he has been called slow in decision and fearful of overstepping the written word of a statute. He was not a great lawyer, but he was upright and thorough, always careful that the accused should suffer no injustice. Fenton, who had personal knowledge of him, says that his "prudence and foresight often prevented grave injustice and dangerous blunders in the administration of affairs under the peculiar and difficult conditions of a colony half bond and half free".


Legacy

Lake Pedder Lake Pedder, once a glacial outwash lake, is a man-made impoundment and diversion lake located in South West Tasmania, Australia. In addition to its natural catchment from the Frankland Range, the lake is formed by the 1972 damming of the ...
in south-west Tasmania was named after him.


References

*
884 __NOTOC__ Year 884 ( DCCCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * March 1 – Diego Rodríguez Porcelos, count of Castile, founds and repopulates (''repoblación'') Burgos a ...
Australian Colonial Law Monographs 2. *     {{DEFAULTSORT:Pedder, John 1784 births 1859 deaths Knights Bachelor Chief justices of Tasmania Judges of the Supreme Court of Tasmania Members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council Members of the Middle Temple English barristers Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge People educated at Charterhouse School Van Diemen's Land judges Colony of Tasmania judges 19th-century Australian judges 19th-century English lawyers 19th-century Australian politicians British emigrants to Australia