Richard le Blond
Richard le Blond (or le Blound; died after 1325) was an Irish lawyer and
English Crown with a seat on the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland).[1]
He was born in
Justiciar of Ireland during the same era;[3] (there is some evidence that David came from County Cork, not Wicklow).[4]
Richard was appointed King's Serjeant, as the office of Serjeant-at-law was then known, in 1297, jointly with
English Crown:[5] in 1301 he appeared for the Crown at the assizes in County Louth and in the same year he was acting for the Crown in each of the Royal Courts in Dublin.[5] We have records of at least two of the cases he pleaded. The first, in 1301-2, concerned legal issues of some importance on the powers of the Exchequer of Ireland.[6] In the second case, in 1305, he sued on behalf of King Edward I for the recovery of certain lands which belonged to him.[7]
The official records show that he was highly regarded by the Crown.
In 1309 he made the first of several official complaints about the maladministration of
Mayor of Dublin. An inquiry was held into the allegations, but it ended inconclusively (a later inquiry upheld all the allegations of corruption
against Morton).
After a quarter of a century's service as Serjeant, le Blond was appointed to the Common Pleas in 1322.[1] He was also appointed justice itinerant for County Meath.[2] He seems to have retired in 1325.[8] He has been described as a man who was "greatly knowledgeable in the law",[8] and one "who gave the King praiseworthy service".[7]
Sources
- Ball, F. Elrington The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921 John Murray London 1926 Volume 1
- Casey, James The Irish Law Officers Round Hall Sweet and Maxwell 1996
- Hand, Geoffrey English Law in Ireland 1290-1324 Cambridge University Press 1967
- Hart, A. R. A History of the King's Serjeants at law in Ireland Four Courts Press Dublin 2000