Sir Ralph Vincent Cusack (1916–1978) was a judge of the

High Court of England and Wales 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 (England ...

Life

Cusack Cusack is an Irish family name of Norman origin, originally from Cussac in Guienne ( Aquitaine), France. The surname died out in England, but is still common in Ireland, where it was imported at the time of the Norman invasion of Ireland in ...

was born in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the son of Dora and John Cusack, KC, later a judge (d. 1940), who contested the seat of

Newry Newry (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Clanrye river in counties Armagh and Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a Cistercian monastery, although ...

as a Unionist at the January 1910 United Kingdom general election. One of his brothers, John Cusack, known as Jake (d. 1968), was Minister of the Interior of

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

during the

Mau Mau Mau Mau may refer to: * The Kenya Land and Freedom Army, a Kenyan anti-colonial force ** The Mau Mau rebellion, uprising in Kenya in the 1950s * Mau Mau Island or White Island, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City * Mau Mau (game), a card game ...

period. Another brother, Dermot, died in 1933 in a car accident. Cusack was brought up in England. He was educated at

King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London and ...

and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

, as well as in Italy. He passed his LLB in 1939 and was called to the Bar from

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 Wa ...

in 1940. He then served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in the British Army until 1946. In 1943-44 he was a Staff Captain, HQ Eastern Command, and with a promotion to Major was Deputy Assistant Military Secretary at the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence (MoD ...

from 1944 to 1946, before resuming his legal career. From 1953 to 1960 he was a member of the

General Council of the Bar The General Council of the Bar, commonly known as the Bar Council, is the representative body for barristers in England and Wales. Established in 1894, the Bar Council is the 'approved regulator' of barristers, but discharges its regulatory functi ...

. In 1960 he became a QC. He was Recorder of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east of t ...

from 1961 to 1964, and Recorder of

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 United ...

from 1964 to 1966, the year in which he was appointed a High Court judge. In the same year he was knighted, and elected a Master of the Bench of Gray's Inn. Among his more notable cases, in 1962 he successfully defended two journalists who had refused to disclose their sources of information to the Vassall Tribunal. In 1968 he was judge in the Mary Bell trial at

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is a ...

. He died suddenly in March 1978. His obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'' described him as "the ideal judge... almost always being right and leaving the litigants thinking that he had been." He was unmarried.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cusack, Ralph 1916 births 1978 deaths People educated at King's College School, London Alumni of the University of London Members of Gray's Inn 20th-century English judges English barristers Expatriate judges from Ireland