Joseph Stock (born 1789-died 30 October 1855) was an Irish Whig politician, barrister, Law Officer and

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

. He was Irish Serjeant-at-law and served as the Admiralty judge 1838-1855. He was one of the ten children of Joseph Stock,

Bishop of Killala and Achonry The Bishop of Killala and Achonry was the Ordinary of the Church of Ireland diocese of Killala and Achonry in the Ecclesiastical Province of Tuam. The diocese comprised part of Counties Mayo and Sligo in Ireland. The Episcopal see was a union ...

and his first wife Catherine Palmer (née Newcome) widow of Patrick Palmer and sister of

William Newcome William Newcome (10 April 1729 – 11 January 1800) was an Englishman and cleric of the Church of Ireland who was appointed to the bishoprics of Dromore (1766–1775), Ossory (1775–1779), Waterford and Lismore (1779–1795), and lastly to ...

Archbishop of Armagh The Archbishop of Armagh is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the Episcopal see, see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic success ...

. He studied law at

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 ...

and 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 1812. He became Third

Serjeant-at-law (Ireland) This is a list of lawyers who held the rank of serjeant-at-law at the Bar of Ireland. Origins of the office of serjeant The first recorded serjeant was Roger Owen, who was appointed between 1261 and 1266, although the title itself was not us ...

in 1840, Second Serjeant in 1841 and First Serjeant in 1842.''Thom's Directory of Ireland 1850'' Unusually for a Serjeant-at-law he was also a sitting judge, having been appointed the judge of the Irish

Admiralty Court Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all admiralty law, maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offenses. United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland The Scottish court's earliest records, ...

in 1838.''Thom's Directory'' He served as the Admiralty judge until his death. His election to Parliament a few months later did not, as might have been expected, disqualify him from continuing as a judge, since the

House of Commons Disqualification Act House of Commons (Disqualification) Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used in the United Kingdom for legislation relating those ineligible to serve as members of the House of Commons. List *The House of Commons (Disqualification) ...

, barring judges from sitting in Parliament, did not, apparently through a drafting anomaly, apply to him. It was generally agreed that he was a highly qualified candidate, who had extensive experience in the field of

Admiralty law Maritime law or admiralty law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and conflict of laws, private international law governing the relations ...

, and his appointment was well received, apart from some concerns that he would not be an energetic reformer, which was considered to be of vital importance since the Court was agreed by practitioners to be in desperate need of an overhaul.Costello, Kevin ''The Court of Admiralty of Ireland 1575-1893'' Four Courts Press Dublin 2011 p.206 However his triple role as MP, Serjeant-at-law and judge meant that within a year or two he became very much a part-time judge. He delegated much of the work to subordinates, and began the previously unknown practice of delivering judgments

ex tempore ''Ex tempore'' (Latin for "out of the moment“) is a law latin legal term that means 'at the time'. A judge who hands down a decision in a case soon or straight after hearing it is delivering a decision ''ex tempore''. Another way a judge may de ...

. He lived at Temple Street, Dublin. He never married, and at his death, his substantial fortune was divided between his relatives. Stock was elected Whig MP for

Cashel Cashel (an Anglicised form of the Irish language word ''Caiseal'', meaning "stone fort") may refer to: Places in Ireland *Cashel, County Tipperary **The Rock of Cashel, an ancient, hilltop fortress complex for which Cashel is named ** Archbishop ...

at a by-election in 1838—caused by the appointment of Stephen Woulfe as

Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer was the Baron (judge) who presided over the Irish Court of Exchequer. This was a mirror of the equivalent court in England, and was one of the four courts which sat in the building in Dublin which is still ...

—and held the seat until 1846 when he resigned by accepting the office of

Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds Appointment to the position of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds (or the Three Hundreds of Chiltern) is a procedural device to allow members of Parliament (MPs) to resign from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Since ...

References

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* UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 Whig (British political party) MPs for Irish constituencies 1855 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Serjeants-at-law (Ireland) 19th-century Irish judges 1789 births {{Ireland-UK-MP-stub