Philippe Panet (February 28, 1791 – January 15, 1855) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

. He was born at

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

in 1791, the son of Jean-Antoine Panet, and studied at the

Petit Séminaire de Québec Petit is a French-language surname literally meaning "small" or "little". Notable people with the surname include: *Adriana Petit (born 1984), Spanish multidisciplinary artist *Alexis Thérèse Petit (1791–1820), French physicist * Amandine Pet ...

. He began to article in law with his father, but served as a captain in the Quebec militia during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

and took part in the Battle of Châteauguay in 1813. He remained in the militia, later becoming lieutenant-colonel. In 1816, Panet was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of e ...

for Northumberland and served until 1824, when he was unable to run due to poor health. He completed his training in law and was called to the bar in 1817. In 1819, he married Luce, the daughter of

seigneur A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of ...

Pierre Casgrain. In 1830, he was elected to represent Montmorency; he was appointed to the Executive Council in 1831. In the same year, he was named

King'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 ...

. Panet resigned his seat in 1832 to accept an appointment as judge in the Court of King's Bench for Quebec district. He served on the Executive Council again in 1838. During the

Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (), commonly referred to as the Patriots' Rebellion () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now southern Quebec). Together wit ...

, Panet earned the ire of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

authorities by declaring the suspension of

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...

by the Special Council in 1838 unconstitutional. Panet and

Elzéar Bédard Elzéar Bédard (24 July 1799 – 11 August 1849) was a lawyer and a member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada. He later became a judge. He was born at Quebec City in 1799, the son of Pierre-Stanislas Bédard. Bédard received a typical ...

were suspended from their duties as judge by colonial administrator Sir

John Colborne Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton, (16 February 1778 – 17 April 1863) was a British Army officer and colonial governor. After taking part as a junior officer in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Hollan ...

. Panet was reinstated as a judge in the Court of Queen's Bench in 1840. He was a member of the Court of Appeal from 1850 until his death at Quebec City in 1855. His brother

Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

later became a member of the Canadian Senate and his brother Charles was a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada.

External links

* * 1791 births 1855 deaths Canadian people of the War of 1812 Judges in Canada East, Province of Canada Lawyers in Lower Canada and Canada East Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Politicians from Quebec City Canadian King's Counsel Lower Canada judges {{Quebec-politician-stub