Richard Segrave (c.1540–1598) was an Irish judge, remembered chiefly for sitting in judgement on his colleague

Nicholas Nugent Nicholas Nugent (c. 1525–1582) was an Anglo-Irish judge, who was hanged for treason by the government that appointed him. He had, before his downfall, enjoyed a highly successful career, holding office as Solicitor General for Ireland, Baron of ...

, who was the only Irish judge ever to be hanged for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

by the Government which appointed him.

Family

He was the son of Patrick Segrave (died 1552), head of the prominent landowning family of Killegland, now

Ashbourne, County Meath Ashbourne ()Placenames Database of Ireland
(see archival records) is a town in County Meat ...

and his wife Joan Beg; the

Richard Sydgrave Richard Sydgrave or Segrave (died 1425) was an Irish judge who held office as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer and served as deputy to the Lord Chancellor of Ireland. His family became among the foremost landowners in County Meath, and also held ...

who was

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 ...

1423-5, was a direct ancestor.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221–1921'' John Murray London 1926 Vol.1 pp.219–20 The first Richard's eldest son Patrick, who was

murdered Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excu ...

by Patrick White in 1455,Statute 33 Hen. 6. c. 38 (I), pardoning White and others for the murder acquired Killegland through marriage into the Wafer family. The younger Richard's date of birth is not recorded but he was still a minor when his father died. His aunt Katherine was the second wife of Alderman Robert Ussher of

Santry Santry () is a suburb on the northside of Dublin, Ireland, bordering Coolock, Glasnevin, Kilmore and Ballymun. It straddles the boundary of Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council jurisdictions. The character of the area has chang ...

, a member of one of Dublin's most prominent families. He entered

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1560.

Nicholas Nugent

In 1578 he became second Baron of the

Court of Exchequer (Ireland) The Court of Exchequer (Ireland), or the Irish Exchequer of Pleas, was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was the mirror image of the equivalent court in England. The Court of Exchequer was one of the four royal courts of jus ...

on the

suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Car suspension * Cell suspension or suspension culture, in biology * Guarded suspension, a software design pattern in concurrent programming suspending a method call and the calling ...

of Nicholas Nugent from his office of

Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas The chief justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland was the presiding judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland, which was known in its early years as the Court of Common Bench, or simply as "the Bench", or "the Dublin bench". It was one of the ...

. This caused unfavourable comment when in 1582 Segrave was one of three judges called on to sit on a special commission at

Trim, County Meath Trim () is a town in County Meath, Ireland. It is situated on the River Boyne and, as of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, had a population of 9,563. The town is in a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of the same name. The town ...

, to try Nugent, who had been restored to his position as Chief Justice, but was now charged with complicity in the

rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

of his nephew William Nugent. The trial gave rise to deep disquiet, due partly to the failure of the Crown to produce two

witnesses In law, a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, either oral or written, of what they know or claim to know. A witness might be compelled to provide testimony in court, before a grand jur ...

, as normally required in a treason trial, and partly due to the perceived

bias Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is inaccurate, closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individ ...

of the judges, especially Sir Robert Dillon, a lifelong enemy of Nugent. Whether Segrave had any personal bias against Nugent is not known, but he had profited from his disgrace and was personally close to Robert Dillon (Segrave's son Patrick later married Dillon's daughter). Further, contrary to the modern principle of judicial

impartiality Impartiality (also called evenhandedness or fair-mindedness) is a principle of justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the mo ...

, it was said that the judges were actually chosen for their personal knowledge of Nugent. It was also said that pressure was put on the

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make Question of fact, findings of fact, and render an impartiality, impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty or Judgmen ...

to convict, although this was the usual practice in English treason trials. Nugent was found guilty and hanged, but the affair caused such unease that it was later suggested by the Dublin government that only English-born judges should sit in the Irish Courts, as Irish judges were not capable of administering impartial justice.

Death

He died in 1598 and was buried at Ashbourne. He married twice and was the father of

Patrick Segrave Patrick Segrave (died c.1610) was an Irish judge of the early seventeenth century, who was removed from office for numerous incidents of corruption.Smyth, Constantine Joseph ''Chronicle of the Law Officers of Ireland'' London Butterworths 1839 H ...

, who like his father became a

Baron of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was ...

, but was later removed from office for

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

.Kenny, Colum ''The King's Inns and the Kingdom of Ireland'' Irish Academic Press Dublin 1992 p.200

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Segrave, Richard People from Ashbourne, County Meath 1598 deaths Members of Gray's Inn Year of birth uncertain People of Elizabethan Ireland Barons of the Irish Exchequer Lawyers from County Meath 16th-century Irish judges