John Anson Brightman, Baron Brightman, PC (20 June 1911 – 6 February 2006) was a British barrister and judge who served as a

law lord Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

between 1982 and 1986.

Early life and career

Brightman was born in Sandridge, Hertfordshire, the son of William Henry Brightman, a solicitor, and of Minnie Boston Brightman, ''née'' Way. He was educated at Doon House School in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

, and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. Th ...

, where he read law. He was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1932. He then joined the chambers of Fergus Morton, later a law lord, and practised at the Chancery bar. During World War II, he volunteered as an

able seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...

in the Merchant Navy from 1939 to 1940, then was commissioned into the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, ...

, serving on convoy in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. In 1944, he attended the Royal Naval staff course at

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwic ...

, and was promoted to

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

to become assistant naval

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accord ...

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, mak ...

. He returned to the bar in 1946, mainly practising trusts and taxation law, and

took silk 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 1961. He was appointed Attorney General of the Duchy of Lancaster, but relinquished the post on his appointment to the bench in 1970. While at the bar, Brightman was pupil master to

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

, who was his first female pupil.

Judicial career

Brightman was appointed a High Court judge in 1970 and assigned to the

Chancery Division 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 and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (Englan ...

, 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 ...

. In 1971, he joined

John Donaldson, Baron Donaldson John Francis Donaldson, Baron Donaldson of Lymington, (6 October 1920 – 31 August 2005) was a senior British judge who served as Master of the Rolls for ten years, from 1982 to 1992. He is best known in some circles for his role as presidin ...

and Lord Thomson as the three judges of the National Industrial Relations Court (NIRC), set up by the government of

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

to reign in the power of the trades unions. In 1972, he decided that

Bobby Moore Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He most notably played for West Ham United, captaining the club for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England natio ...

and

Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional footballer. A striker, he became the first man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final when England recorded a 4–2 victory over West Germany at Wembley St ...

need not pay

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

on bonuses and cash gifts received following the victory of the

England football team The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affiliat ...

in the 1966 World Cup. In 1974, while still a High Court judge, he refused Anton Piller KG the

court order A court order is an official proclamation by a judge (or panel of judges) that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying out ...

that it requested to search the premises of a defendant to prevent the defendant from destroying potential evidence. He was overruled by

Lord Denning Alfred Thompson "Tom" Denning, Baron Denning (23 January 1899 – 5 March 1999) was an English lawyer and judge. He was called to the bar of England and Wales in 1923 and became a King's Counsel in 1938. Denning became a judge in 1944 whe ...

's Court of Appeal, giving rise to the

Anton Piller order In English and English-derived legal systems, an Anton Piller order (frequently misspelled ''Anton Pillar order'') is a court order that provides the right to search premises and seize evidence without prior warning. This is intended to prevent t ...

that remains in use today. Like his colleague on the NIRC, John Donaldson, Brightman had to wait until shortly after Thatcher won the 1979 general election in 1979 to be appointed as

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Justice ...

. Brightman became a

Lord of Appeal in Ordinary Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

and

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

, sitting in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

as Baron Brightman, ''of Ibthorpe in the County of Hampshire'', from 12 March 1982, the same year that Donaldson was promoted to become

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and Head of Civil Justice. As a judge, the Master of ...

. One of Brightman's first judgments, in 1983, was to decide that Ann Mallalieu (later Baroness Mallalieu) was not entitled to a tax deduction for the cost of her court dress. He also ruled against the taxpayer in the case of '' Furniss v. Dawson''; upheld the

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ...

verdict in ''R v Hancock and Shankland'', the case of a taxi driver killed during the 1984 miners' strike, modifying the test of intent required for a conviction of murder; and joined the judgment that refused to grant the government an order banning on newspaper articles about ''

Spycatcher ''Spycatcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer'' (1987) is a memoir written by Peter Wright, former MI5 officer and Assistant Director, and co-author Paul Greengrass. He drew on his own experiences and research int ...

'' on 11 March 19

Personal life

He married Roxane Ambatielo in 1945 and had one son.

References

Obituary
('' The Telegraph'', 8 February 2006)
Announcement of his death at the House of Lords
House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 8 February 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brightman, John Anson, Baron Brightman 1911 births 2006 deaths Law lords Knights Bachelor English barristers Members of Lincoln's Inn Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Marlborough College Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Chancery Division judges Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Attorneys-General of the Duchy of Lancaster British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II Lords Justices of Appeal 20th-century English lawyers