John Jervis (judge)

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For his son, see John Jervis (MP for Horsham).

Sir John Jervis.

Sir John Jervis,

Lord John Russell. He subsequently became a judge and enjoyed a career as a robust but intelligent and innovative jurist
, a career cut short by his early and sudden death.

Early life

The son of

Queen's Counsel in 1837 but, aspiring to a political career, he declined, managing to obtain a patent of precedence instead.[3]

Legal author (1826–1832)

Between 1826 and 1832, Jervis collaborated in law reporting with Charles John Crompton (Crompton & Jervis) and was also the co-reporter in Younge & Jervis. Jervis's Office and Duties of Coroners (1829) remains the leading practitioners' text on coroners and inquests with a 13th edition due in late 2007. He undertook a major rewrite of Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice to produce the 4th edition (1831) and went on to edit the 5th to 8th editions.[3]

Jervis went on to author four editions of

George Wilshere, 1st Baron Bramwell.[3][4] The commission's findings[5] led to the Common Law Procedure Acts 1852 and 1854 (15 & 16 Vict. c. 76 and 17 & 18 Vict. c. 135)[6][7] which started the process of rationalising the English courts, until then still hampered by much medieval practice, and creating the modern system.[8]

Political career (1832–1850)

Sir John Jervis, 1847

Jervis was elected

knighted on 1 August 1846.[12]

Jervis was Attorney-General while the

prosecutions against Chartist
activists. Jervis won all such prosecution and achieved some fame and honour, being considered for high judicial office.

The Jervis Acts

By 1848, the institution of

House of Commons
three bills to reform the criminal and civil roles of a Justice of the Peace in England and Wales:

The Acts won considerable praise as soon as they came into force though they did later attract criticism for their verbose style.[16] In retrospect, Getzler expresses the opinion that the system of local justices would have fallen into further disrepute and ultimate decline and desuetude without these reforms.[3] These Acts largely defined the modern system of summary and indictable offences within the magistrates' courts.[18]

The Indictable Offences Act 1848 is important in that it is the first codification of the police caution in England and Wales, in the words:[19][17]: s.18 

Having heard the evidence, do you wish to say anything in answer to the charge? You are not obliged to say anything unless you desire to do so, but whatever you say will be taken down in writing and may be given in evidence against you at your trial.

The first two Acts defined the duties of Justices acting other than at

quarter sessions (i.e. "out of sessions"). Jervis achieved consistency of practice by appending extensive forms and precedents to the Acts so as to provide a straightforward means by which Justices could comply though allowing them, at least the perception of, freedom to adapt to local circumstances. The prudent Justice follows precedent and this was a character trait a future Attorney-General, Alexander Cockburn, would use in the Common Law Procedure Act 1852[6] and the Common Law Procedure Act 1854.[18][6]

A fourth Act, the

magistrates' clerks and statutory scales for court fees proved unacceptable.[14]

Judicial career (1850–1856)

Jervis was appointed

rule in Turquand's case
, giving protection to third parties who deal with a company in good faith without knowledge that the company has not followed its own internal procedures.

Jervis died suddenly, possibly of lung cancer, on 1 November 1856 in London and was buried at Shipbourne.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Jervis, John (JRVS819J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  2. ^ His name, according to Venn, however, does not appear in the Army Lists
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Getzler (2004)
  4. ^ Parl. papers, 1851, 22; 1852–3, 40
  5. ^ First Report of the Common Law Procedure Commission (1851)
  6. ^ a b c "Common Law Procedure Act 1852", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 15 & 16 Vict. c. 76
  7. ^ "Common Law Procedure Act 1852", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 17 & 18 Vict. c. 125
  8. ^ Maitland, F. W. (1909). "The Forms of Action at Common Law". Retrieved 6 July 2007., Lecture 1
  9. ^ Parliamentary Debates (Hansard): CHESTER CRIMINALS' EXECUTION
  10. ^ Parliamentary Debates (Hansard): "Weaver Churches Bill" index page.
  11. ^ Freestone & Richardson (1980) pp. 6–7
  12. ^ "No. 20630". The London Gazette. 7 August 1846. p. 2872.
  13. ^ "Treason Felony Act 1848", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 11 & 12 Vict. c. 12
  14. ^ a b Freestone & Richardson (1980) p. 8
  15. ^ Freestone & Richardson (1980) p. 5
  16. ^ a b Freestone & Richardson (1980) p. 9
  17. ^ a b "Indictable Offences Act 1848", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 11 & 12 Vict. c. 42
  18. ^ a b Freestone & Richardson (1980) p. 10
  19. ^ Freestone & Richardson (1980) pp. 11–12
  20. ^ Smith, Chauncey, ed. (1855). English Reports in Law and Equity. Vol. 26. London: Charles C. Little. p. 286.

Bibliography

External links

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Parliament of the United Kingdom
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1832–1850
With: Lord Robert Grosvenor 1832–1847
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