Sir William Dolben KS KC (c. 1627 – 25 January 1694) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

judge who sat as a

Justice of the King's Bench Justice of the King's Bench, or Justice of the Queen's Bench during the reign of a female monarch, was a puisne judicial position within the Court of King's Bench, under the Chief Justice. The King's Bench was a court of common law which modern a ...

. Born to

William Dolben William Dolben (c. 1588 – 1631) was a Welsh clergyman. Life Dolben was born in Pembrokeshire and was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, graduating with a BA degree in 1607 and an MA degree (as from All Souls Colle ...

and his wife Elizabeth Williams, whose children also included

John Dolben John Dolben (1625–1686) was an English priest and Church of England bishop and archbishop. Life Early life He was the son of William Dolben (died 1631), prebendary of Lincoln and bishop-designate of Gloucester, and Elizabeth Williams, ...

, later

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers ...

,Foss (1870) p. 224 he joined the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in 1647/8 and was called to the Bar in 1655, the same year that he graduated

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

. He became a

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher ca ...

of the Inner Temple in 1672,

Recorder of London The Recorder of London is an ancient legal office in the City of London. The Recorder of London is the senior circuit judge at the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey), hearing trials of criminal offences. The Recorder is appointed by the C ...

in 1676, and was knighted a year later on 3 February 1677. Dolben apparently served well as Recorder; when he was promoted a few years later, the Corporation of London gave him some silver plate "as a loving remembrance". He became a

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

and

King's Serjeant A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are w ...

on 2 May and 24 October respectively, and, on 23 October 1678, became a Justice of the

Court of 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 court of common ...

"during good behaviour". As both a barrister and a judge, Dolben was noted as an "arrant old snarler" with a large voice, despite his small stature, a trait that Stuart Handley notes probably served him well in court. In the aftermath of the

Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the Kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate ...

, Dolben tried many of the accused, including

Sir Thomas Gascoigne, 2nd Baronet Sir Thomas Gascoigne, 2nd Baronet (1596–1686) was an English Baronet, a prominent member of the Gascoigne family and a survivor of the Popish Plot, or as it was locally known "the Barnbow Plot".Stephen PorterGascoigne, Sir Thomas, second ba ...

and Sir Miles Stapleton; due to his impartial trait of pointing out inconsistencies in the prosecution's evidence, both were acquitted. At the trial of Mary Pressicks, who was accused of saying that "We shall never be at peace until we are all of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

religion", Dolben saved her life by ruling that the words, even if she did speak them, could not amount to

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. As a result of this and his opposition to Charles II's removal of the

City Corporation A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally owne ...

's writs, he was "according to the vicious practise of the time" dismissed on 18 April 1683. Again working as a barrister, Dolben prosecuted

Algernon Sidney Algernon Sidney or Sydney (15 January 1623 – 7 December 1683) was an English politician, republican political theorist and colonel. A member of the middle part of the Long Parliament and commissioner of the trial of King Charles I of England ...

in November 1683 before being reinstated as a Justice of the King's Bench on 18 March 1689. Records from 29 April show him "inveighing mightily against the corruption of juries uring the Glorious Revolution, and he continued sitting as a Justice until his death from an apoplectic fit on 25 January 1694,Sainty (1993) p.35 and was buried in

Temple Church The Temple Church is a Royal peculiar church in the City of London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters. It was consecrated on 10 February 1185 by Patriarch Heraclius of J ...

. Unmarried and with no children, he had originally intended that his estate should go to his younger nephew,

, and then to John's children, but was so angered by John's profligate behaviour and chronic gambling that he disinherited him and settled the estate entirely on John's children.

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