Sir Joseph Donaldson Cantley, (8 August 1910 – 6 January 1993) was an English barrister and later a High Court judge. He is most notable for presiding over the trial of

Jeremy Thorpe John Jeremy Thorpe (29 April 1929 – 4 December 2014) was a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament for North Devon from 1959 to 1979 and as leader of the Liberal Party from 1967 to 1976. In May 1979 he was tried at the Old ...

in 1979.

Early life

Cantley was born in Manchester, where his father was a

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

. He was educated at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is a highly Selective school, selective Private_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom, private day school for boys aged 7-18 in Manchester, England, which was founded in 1515 by Hugh Oldham (then Bishop of Exeter). ...

and then studied law at

Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

. He was called to the bar at

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 ...

in 1933, and came top in his bar finals examination, gaining first-class honours and the Certificate of Honour.

Legal career

He became a barrister in Manchester, with a pupillage under Denis Gerrard and then practising on the

Northern Circuit The Northern Circuit is a circuit of the General Council of the Bar and English judiciary. The Northern Circuit stretches from Carlisle in Cumberland at its northernmost point, running through Lakeland to the port of Whitehaven in the West, ...

. Cantley served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, first in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

and then on staff appointments, spending time in North Africa and Italy. He was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in 1945, and was demobilised as a lieutenant colonel. He returned to the bar after the war. He had a mixed practice, specialising in

contract law A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more Party (law), parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, Service (economics), services, money, or pr ...

cases. He became a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1954, 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 ...

at Middle Temple in 1963. He served as Treasurer at Middle Temple in 1981. One of his last trials was leading for the prosecution when Gwynne Evans and Peter Allen were convicted for the

murder of John Alan West The murder of John Alan West on 7 April 1964 was the crime which led to the last death sentences being carried out in the United Kingdom. West, a 53-year-old van driver for a laundry company, was beaten and stabbed to death by Gwynne Evans and ...

in 1964, which led to the last two judicial executions in Britain before the abolition of the death penalty in 1965.

Judicial career

Cantley became Judge of the Court of Record in the

Hundred of Salford The Salford Hundred (also known as Salfordshire) was one of the subdivisions (a hundred) of the historic county of Lancashire in Northern England. Its name alludes to its judicial centre being the township of Salford (the suffix ''-shire'' mea ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

in 1960, and was Judge of Appeal in the

Isle of Man High Court The High Court of Justice of the Isle of Man is governed by the High Court Act 1991. There are four permanent judges of the High Court: *the Deemster, First Deemster and Clerk of the Rolls *the Deemster, Second Deemster *a full-time additional ...

from 1962 to 1965. He was appointed as a High Court judge in 1965, allocated 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 ...

, and received the customary

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 Presiding Judge on the Northern Circuit from 1970 to 1974. He had a low public profile until he presided at the

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

in May–June 1979, shortly after the 1979 UK general election on 3 May 1979 - so much so that no press agency could find a photograph of him. Thorpe was acquitted, and Cantley's summing up roundly condemned the prosecution witnesses and praised the defendants, while claiming not to express an opinion. At the 1979 '' Secret Policeman's Ball'', in aid of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

, the biased summing up speech by Mr Justice Cantley was parodied by

Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English comedian, actor, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishmen ...

. The sketch was written and delivered shortly after the trial and was, according to Freeman and Penrose, "actually not that different from the original." The nine-minute opus, "Entirely a Matter for You", is considered to be one of the finest works of Cook's career. Cook and show producer Martin Lewis brought out an album on

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

entitled ''Here Comes the Judge: Live'' of the live performance together with three studio tracks that further lampooned the Thorpe trial. Notwithstanding marked and widespread public disquiet at the biased summing-up in the Thorpe trial, Cantley was considered as Presiding Judge on the

South Eastern Circuit The Circuit Court () 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 indictment with a judge and jury ...

, but declined in order to become Treasurer of Middle Temple in 1981.

Personal life and death

Cantley married Hilda Goodwin Gerrard (née Jones) in 1966, widow of his former pupil-master, Albert Denis Gerrard. He retired from the bench in 1985. In later life, he lived with his wife in the Temple and attended the

Temple Church The Temple Church, a royal peculiar in the Church of England, is a church in the Inner Temple, Inner and Middle Temple, Middle Temple, London, Temples located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar for their En ...

. Cantley died in London on 6 January 1993 following several years of ill health, aged 82. His wife Hilda died on 11 September 1995, aged 95.

References

Obituary
The Independent, 9 January 1993
Portrait
National Portrait Gallery
History's Greatest Scandals
Ed Wright, p. 76, 2011,
Our Corrupt Legal System
Evan Whitton, p. 147, 2010, {{DEFAULTSORT:Cantley, Joseph Donaldson 1910 births 1993 deaths Queen's Bench Division judges Lawyers from Manchester People educated at Manchester Grammar School Alumni of the University of Manchester Members of the Middle Temple Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War II Officers of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British lawyers Knights Bachelor 20th-century English lawyers