Frederick Lawton (judge)
Lord Justice of Appeal | |
---|---|
In office 11 January 1972 – 21 December 1986 | |
Preceded by | Lord Justice Salmon |
Justice of the High Court | |
In office 9 January 1961 – 11 January 1972 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Frederick Horace Lawton 21 December 1911 Camberwell, London, England |
Died | 3 February 2001 York, England | (aged 89)
Children | 2 |
Alma mater | Corpus Christi College, Cambridge |
Sir Frederick Horace Lawton (21 December 1911 – 3 February 2001) was a British barrister and judge who served as
Early life and career
Frederick Lawton was born in
After flirting with Communism there, Lawton joined the British Union of Fascists and founded the Cambridge University Fascist Association.[a]
Early legal career
Lawton was called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1935, and joined the chambers of Norman Birkett — 1 Brick Court. As a junior barrister, he defended members of the BUF charged under the Public Order Act 1936. Around that time he converted to Catholicism, which became an important part of his life.[1]
On 4 August 1937 Lawton married Doreen Wilton[b] a typist and the daughter of a Prison Service clerical officer; they had two sons.
Lawton trained in the
He reached a new level of casework in 1942, when he defended Harry Dobkin,[c] a fire-watcher who murdered his wife during the Blitz. He became known as a leading criminal barrister. He stood in civil matters, notably in defamation cases. Among his cases were the 1956 prosecution of the Soviet discus thrower Nina Ponomaryova for shoplifting, the defence of the train driver who drove into a stationary train in the 1957 Lewisham rail crash, and the 1959 defence of Guenther Podola, a seasoned criminal, who murdered a police man.[c]
Lawton became a
Judicial career
High Court
Lawton was appointed to the
On the civil side, in 1964 Lawton presided over the high-profile libel case bought by Polish-born Dr Wladislaw Dering against the American novelist Leon Uris. As the case concerned certain events during the Holocaust some expressed doubt about Lawton's suitability for the case, given his former fascism. In the event, his adjudication prompted no adverse publicity. In 1970, he adjudged Broome v Cassell & Co Ltd, another high-profile libel trial as to certain events in World War II.
When adjudicating criminal matters, Lawton was regarded as efficient and fair, though prone to pass severe sentences in serious cases.[1]
Court of Appeal
Lawton was appointed a
Lawton was influential in advocating for
Lawton retired in 1986.
Stance and remarks
Sir Frederick made at least four
- In 1967 he sentenced Charlie Richardson to serve 25 years for his conviction by jury for torture, amounting to grievous bodily harm, coupled with fraud and affray. He added "one is ashamed to live in a society that contains men like you."
- He more controversially opined "wife beatingmay be socially acceptable in Sheffield, but it is a different matter in Cheltenham."
- In 1981, when demonstrators for nuclear disarmament turned to violence he remarked that "a good South Devon bull might work wonders" — the demonstrations took place in Cornwall nearby, with an early 19th century tradition of magistrates putting down riots fiercely.
- In 1987, after he retired, he complained of the difficulty prosecuting "the gyppos and tinkers who invade a farmer's land".
Cases
In the
Name | Type of opinion | Case status as precedent |
---|---|---|
Ward v Tesco Stores Ltd |
Concurrence | Valid |
Harris v Goddard | Concurrence | Valid[d] |
Mascall v Mascall | Concurrence | Valid |
Conservative and Unionist Central Office v Burrell | Concurrence | Valid |
BP Exploration Co (Libya) Ltd v Hunt (No 2) | Concurrence | Valid |
Multinational Gas and Petrochemical Co v Multinational Gas and Petrochemical Services Ltd | Concurrence | Valid |
R v Quick | Concurrence | Valid |
Re Vandervell's Trustees Ltd (No 2) |
Concurrence | Valid |
Butler Machine Tool Co Ltd v Ex-Cell-O Corp Ltd |
Concurrence | Valid |
Rose v Plenty | Dissent | Valid |
Holwell Securities Ltd v Hughes | Concurrence | Valid |
Macarthys Ltd v Smith | Concurrence | Superseded by own referral to ECJ which overruled ruling |
R v Blaue | Concurrence | Valid |
Clay Cross (Quarry Services) Ltd v Fletcher | Concurrence | Doubted[4][5] |
Spartan Steel & Alloys Ltd v Martin & Co (Contractors) Ltd | Concurrence | Valid |
Lawton was also involved in the early appeals of the
Sources
Footnotes and references
Footnotes
- ^ From 1936 he was adopted as the BUF's candidate who on any notice of poll would stand for Hammersmith North but no such notice was made as the forecast 1940 election was shelved due to the World War II.[2][3]
- ^ died 1979
- ^ a b Of the four cases listed, this is one where the overall verdict went against Lawton's efforts
- ^ But formal severance of a joint-tenancy asset is more likely now by common legal practice, which forbids unilateral transacting with the land, not relevant in this case
Citations
- ^ a b c "Obituary: Sir Frederick Lawton". The Daily Telegraph. 6 February 2001. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
- ^ a b James Morton (5 February 2001). "Obituary: Lord Justice Lawton". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
- ^ ISBN 9781846682230.
- ^ In Rainey v Greater Glasgow Health Board [1987] AC 224, HL(Sc)
- ^ Status confirmed by Incorporated Council of Law Reporting index card