Mr Commissioner Robert Malcolm Kerr

LL.D A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

(5 June 1821–21 November 1902), was a

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 ...

judge of the late

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

Career

Born in Glasgow, the son of John Kerr (1791-1853), a writer for ''The Signet'', and Elizabeth (née Malcolm), 'Commissioner Kerr' was educated at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

and then become an

Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

at the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates () is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a const ...

in his native Scotland in 1843 before moving to London where he became 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 ...

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

in 1848. By 1851 Kerr was a Deputy County Court Judge on the

Northern Circuit The Northern Circuit is a circuit of the General Council of the Bar and English judiciary. The Northern Circuit stretches from Carlisle in Cumberland at its northernmost point, running through Lakeland to the port of Whitehaven in the West, ...

, and also lectured on Law for the

Incorporated Law Society The Law Society of England and Wales (officially The Law Society) is the professional association that represents solicitors for the jurisdiction of England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors, as ...

; he also edited an edition of Blackstone's ''

Commentaries on the Laws of England The ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'' (commonly, but informally known as ''Blackstone's Commentaries'') are an influential 18th-century treatise on the common law of England by Sir William Blackstone, originally published by the Clarend ...

''.G. Pitt-Lewis, KC, ''Commissioner Kerr - An Individuality'' T. Fisher Unwin (1903)
/ref> In 1857 he was awarded the degree of

by the University of Glasgow. In 1859 he was the last person to be elected by the

Common Council of the City of London The Court of Common Council is the primary decision-making body of the City of London Corporation. It meets nine times per year. Most of its work is carried out by committees. City of London Corporation elections , Elections are held at least eve ...

as a Judge of the Sheriff's Court of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

and then became a Judge at the Guildhall Court in the City of London for 43 years. He twice failed to get into

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as a

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candidate,, for

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

in 1874 and for Kilmarnock Burghs in 1880. Despite being offered an extremely generous pension, he refused to retire from his position at the City of London Court.Biography from '' Vanity Fair'' - 22 November 1900 The written biography accompanying his 1900 '' Vanity Fair''

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...

said of him:

"He administers a kind of rough and ready justice that irritates many and pleases few. His worst faults are his inclination to decide cases when only part heard and his occasional disregard of the existing state of the Law. For years he has successfully defied the High Court by persisting in refusal to trouble himself by taking notes of his cases. He does not believe in juries, and it is his special delight to ridicule the Mayor's Court which sits over the way.".

He had a reputation for bluntness to the point of rudeness. In cases in which he was involved he variously told counsel, "You've said it three times; now say it three times more, and that will be once for each of the jury and once for me." On another occasion he remarked "Don't talk, sir; hold your tongue. Get into Parliament, or the County Council, or some other talking-shop, if you want to talk, but you must not do it here." On yet another occasion he told a solicitor to "go and buy a shilling Guide to the Law". However, his

biographer Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography. Biographers Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...

said of him that "His rugged manners hid, and barely hid, a heart of gold". He was a commissioner of lieutenancy for the City of London, a Justice of the Peace (JP) for the

County of Dumbarton Dunbartonshire () or the County of Dumbarton is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbartonshire borders Perthshire to the north, Stirling ...

, and for

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, and a Justice of the Peace and Deputy lieutenant for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. Kerr gave two windows to Govan Old church in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

; the 'Emmaus' window in 1891, and 'Christ blessing the children' in 1902. Both were made by

Heaton, Butler and Bayne Heaton, Butler and Bayne was a British firm that produced stained-glass windows from 1862 to 1953. History Clement Heaton (1824–1882) Fleming, John & Hugh Honour. (1977) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Decorative Arts. '' London: Allen Lane, p. 371 ...

. In St. Martin's Cathedral in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

, the Netherlands, he also erected a tablet in memory of his relative Robert Kerr of Kersland, a religious refugee, who had died in 1680 in that country.Kerr on the Govan Old Church website
He died at

Northwood, Middlesex Northwood is an area in the London Borough of Hillingdon, North West London, located northwest of Charing Cross. Northwood was part of the ancient parish of Ruislip, Middlesex. The area was situated on the historic Middlesex boundary with Hert ...

on 21 November 1902 after having had a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

Family

He married on 2 August 1848 Maria Susannah Soley Knight, daughter of Charles Knight, of London. She died in 1884. They had two daughters and six sons, one of whom was the artist and illustrator Charles Henry Malcolm Kerr, noted as the illustrator of the adventure novels of

H. Rider Haggard Sir Henry Rider Haggard (; 22 June 1856 – 14 May 1925) was an English writer of adventure fiction romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the lost world literary genre. He was also involved in land reform t ...

Select publications

*''Genealogical Notices Of The Napiers Of Kilmahew In Dumbartonshire'' (1849) * (with

William Blackstone Sir William Blackstone (10 July 1723 – 14 February 1780) was an English jurist, Justice (title), justice, and Tory (British political party), Tory politician most noted for his ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'', which became the best-k ...

) ''The Student's Blackstone: Being the Commentaries On the Laws of England of Sir William Blackstone'' *''The Common Law Procedure Act, 1854, (17 & 18 Vict., Cap. 125,) with Practical Notes'' *''An Action at Law: Being an Outline of the Jurisdiction of the Superior Courts of Common Law, with an Elementary View of the Proceedings in Personal Actions and in Ejectionment''

References

External links

'Mr Commissioner Kerr'
- ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' Archive - 26 December 1903, Pg 19
'Mr Commissioner Kerr' - Obituary
in ''

'' Archive - 3 October 1868, Pg 7 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Robert Malcolm 1821 births 1902 deaths Alumni of the University of Glasgow 19th-century English judges Members of the Faculty of Advocates Members of Lincoln's Inn 20th-century English judges Lawyers from Glasgow 19th-century Scottish lawyers