Richard Aston
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Sir Richard Aston (1717 – 1 March 1778) was an English judge who served as
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 ...
and Lord Chief Justice of the
Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...
in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. Aston worked to reform law practice, specifically to change the process in which bills of indictment were issued without the examination of witnesses. After leaving his post in Ireland, he joined
Lord Mansfield William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, (2 March 1705 – 20 March 1793), was a British judge, politician, lawyer, and peer best known for his reforms to English law. Born in Scone Palace, Perthshire, to a family of Peerage of Scotland, Scott ...
's court.


Lineage

Aston was the son of Richard Aston, Esq., of Wadley House at Littleworth in
Faringdon Faringdon is a historic market town in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England, south-west of Oxford, north-west of Wantage and east-north-east of Swindon. Its views extend to the River Thames in the north and the highest ground visib ...
,
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
(now
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
), grandson of Sir Willoughby Aston,
Bart Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves List of Bay Area Rapid Transit stations, 50 stations along six routes and of track, including eBART, a spur line running t ...
., and great-grandson of Sir Thomas Aston, the first of the
Aston baronets There have been two baronetcies created for persons with the surname Aston, both in the Baronetage of England. Both creations are extinct. The Aston Baronetcy, of Tixall in the County of Stafford, was created in the Baronetage of England on 22 ...
. The Astons derived their name from
Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Located immediately to the north-west of Birmingham city centre, Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a wards of the United Kingdom, war ...
in
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
, where the family had been settled since the time of
Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...
. His mother, Elizabeth, was a daughter of John Warren, Esq., of
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
.


Career

The date Aston began practicising as a
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
is unclear but his name appears in the first volume of Sir James Burrow's ''Reports of Cases in the King's Bench'' (1756–1758). He became
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 ...
in 1759 and Lord Chief Justice of the
Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...
in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
in 1761 after Sir William Yorke's resignation. In 1765, after Sir Thomas Denison, a judge of the
King's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court of common law in t ...
in England, resigned, Aston gave up his post in Ireland to return to the English court. At this time, he was knighted. In 1768, Aston was a member of
Lord Mansfield William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, (2 March 1705 – 20 March 1793), was a British judge, politician, lawyer, and peer best known for his reforms to English law. Born in Scone Palace, Perthshire, to a family of Peerage of Scotland, Scott ...
's court and was among those who judged the conviction of
John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English Radicalism (historical), radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlese ...
for the publication of two
seditious libel Seditious libel is a criminal offence under common law of printing written material with seditious purposethat is, the purpose of bringing contempt upon a political authority. It remains an offence in Canada but has been abolished in England and ...
s in ''Essay on Woman'' and in issue 45 of ''
The North Briton ''The North Briton'' was a radical newspaper published in 18th-century London. The North Briton also served as the pseudonym of the newspaper's author, used in advertisements, letters to other publications, and handbills. Although written ano ...
''. Wilkes argued that the charges, which branded him an
outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them. ...
, were unlawful and, on certain technical grounds, invalid. Aston, along with Joseph Yates and John Willes, found that the language on Wilkes' writ was indeed incomplete. The court agreed that it was invalid. Because the grounds of the writ's dismissal were so technical, rumors spread among Wilkes' detractors that he had bribed Willes and Aston with lottery tickets, and that Aston had been seen selling them at the Royal Exchange. On 20 January 1770, after
Charles Yorke Charles Yorke PC (30 December 172220 January 1770) was a British politician who briefly served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. His father was also Lord Chancellor, and he began his career as a Member of Parliament. He served success ...
's death by suicide, the Rockingham administration selected Aston, Sidney Stafford Smythe, and Henry Bathurst as commissioners. Because the three judges had no experience with chancery law, they made enough mistakes that, one year after their appointment, they returned the
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. Back in Lord Mansfield's court, Aston helped sentence
John Horne Tooke John Horne Tooke (25 June 1736 – 18 March 1812), known as John Horne until 1782 when he added the surname of his friend William Tooke to his own, was an English clergyman, politician and Philology, philologist. Associated with radical proponen ...
for seditious libel in 1777. Aston worked to reform legal practice after learning that grand juries regularly made decisions about bills of indictment after viewing only the deposition and not speaking with witnesses. His colleagues mostly disapproved of his work. In 1816, nearly 40 years after Aston's death, a bill making the examination of witnesses obligatory was introduced into 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 ...
by
Francis Horner Francis Horner FRSE (12 August 1778 – 8 February 1817) was a Scottish Whig politician, journalist, lawyer and political economist. Early life: 1778–1807 He was born in Edinburgh the son of John Horner a linen merchant and his wife Joanna ...
and passed into law.


Personal life

Aston was said to have been a brusque man. He was married twice, first to Miss Elred, then to Rebecca Rowland. He died in 1778 and left no
issue Issue or issues may refer to: Publishing * ''Issue'' (company), a mobile publishing company * ''Issue'' (magazine), a monthly Korean comics anthology magazine * Issue (postal service), a stamp or a series of stamps released to the public * '' ...
to either of his wives.


References


Further reading

* Burke's Extinct Baronetage, 23, 569; * Wotton's Baronetage * Cal. of Home Office Papers, 1766–69, 1770–72 * Hansard, xxxii. 548, 552 * Horner's Life, Letter from Horner to Murray upon the Irish Jury Bill * Smyth's Law Officers of Ireland, 311 * Law and Lawyers (reputed author James Grant), ii. 140 * Burrow's Settlement Cases, 533; Burrow's Reports, iv. 2527 * Howell's State Trials, xix. 1085, 1098, 1109, 1116, xx. 787 * Cr. Off. Min. B. No. 2, fol. 16; Annual Reg. xiii. 186. {{DEFAULTSORT:Aston, Richard 1778 deaths 18th-century English judges Justices of the King's Bench Members of the Privy Council of Ireland People from Faringdon Chief justices of the Irish Common Pleas 1717 births