John Leach (judge)

John Leach (around 1825)

John Leach PC (born August 28, 1760 in Bedford , † September 14, 1834 in Edinburgh ) was a British politician and lawyer.

Family and education

Leach was born as the second son of Richard Leach and his wife Frances Green. His father was a coppersmith. Leach received his education at the Bedford Grammar School . He then went on to do an apprenticeship with the architect Robert Taylor . On the advice of Samuel Pepys Cockerell , however, he then decided to study law . On January 26, 1785 he was accepted as a student at the Middle Temple and completed his training with William Alexander .

Professional background

Leach was admitted to the bar on February 12, 1790. Over the next 10 years, he built a successful practice. He became known in 1792 when he represented the MPs of the House of Commons for Seaford in a dispute over their impeachment . He settled in Seaford and held the office of city ​​judge from 1795 . A year later he ran unsuccessfully to the parliamentary elections. He was only able to gain the seat in the 1806 general election . He was a Whigs . In Parliament he was noticed by the Duke of York , who in turn introduced him to the Prince of Wales and later King George IV . The two built a close relationship. Because of this, Leach was offered the post of Solicitor General for England and Wales in 1813 , but he declined. In February 1816 he then accepted the post of Chancellor of the Duchy of Cornwall . At the same time he gave up his seat in Parliament in favor of Charles Cockerell and sold his property in Seaford. In the autumn of 1817 the prince commissioned him with the legal assessment of his wife's behavior . Leach recommended the sending of a commission whose findings formed the basis for the proceedings against Caroline von Braunschweig . This procedure met with opposition from Members of Parliament and severely damaged Leach's reputation. As a result, for example, he was never appointed Lord Chancellor , although he was traded as a candidate in 1819, 1826 and 1830. He also never achieved the elevation to the nobility . On January 3, 1818, he was appointed Crown Attorney . On January 17, 1818 he was raised to the position of Deputy Lord Chancellor and was knighted at the same time. In 1817 he was appointed presiding judge at Chester . In April 1827 Leach turned down the post of Lord Chancellor of Ireland and was made Master of the Rolls for it in May 1827 . In the same month he assumed the office of Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords . As a judge, he often showed weaknesses in his knowledge of the law, which he made up for by working quickly. Because he often gave the impression of sloppy work, many of his cases were appealed . His behavior in the courtroom was very strict, which earned him criticism from numerous barristers . Relationship with the lawyers only improved after he took over the office of Master of the Rolls and moved the meeting times from evening to morning.

Death and aftermath

Leach died at the Simpson's Hotel in Edinburgh on a trip to Sutherland . He was buried in the churchyard of Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh. He left a sizeable annual income of £ 7,000 annually. In his will, he established a legacy of £ 5,000 for a niece. He brought his real estate assets into a trust in favor of his brother.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Michael Lobban: Leach, Sir John (1760-1834). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of January 2008, accessed January 21, 2014.
2. ↑ London Gazette . No. 17319, HMSO, London, January 3, 1818, p. 10 ( PDF , accessed July 5, 2015, English).

predecessor	Office	successor
John Singleton Copley	Master of the Rolls 1827-1834	Charles Pepys