High Water Mark Of The English Judge’s Contempt Powers
We report the following account of Chief Justice Richardson’s exercise of the court’s contempt power in 1631:
“Richardson, Chief Justice of C.B. at the assizes at Salisbury in the summer of 1631 was assaulted by a prisoner condemned there for felony, who after his condemnation threw a brickbat at the said Judge, which narrowly missed; and for this an indictment was immediately drawn by Noy against the prisoner, and his right hand cut off and fixed to the gibbet, upon which he was immediately hanged in the presence of the Court.” 73 Eng. Rep. 416 1378-1865.
Co-contributor Marc remembered reading about this case in law school. His legal textbook described the case as the high water mark of judicial contempt power. Upon graduating from law school, Marc sold the used textbook. We were unable to find the case on the internet, or anywhere else, because Marc incorrectly remembered that an axe had been hurled, when in fact it was a brickbat.
What the hell is a brickbat? Jeffrey Miller has more to say about that in his book, Where There’s Life, There’s Lawsuits (ECW Press 2003): “[T]he brickbat, according to some reports, was a large flintstone.” Id., p, 238. “Fortunately,” adds Miller:
Chief Justice Richardson was, ‘leaning low of his elbow in a lazie recklesse manner,’ so the stone carried away his hat without touching his head. After the narrow escape, Chief Justice Richardson is said to have remarked to some friends, ‘You see, now, if I had been an upright judge, I had been slain.’”
Mr. Miller also provides us with the flavor of some of the original legal “dog-French” found in the musty report: “upon being convicted of a felony a prisoner ‘ject un Brickbat a le dit justice que narrowly mist.’”
According to Wikipedia, William Noy (1577-1634) was a noted English jurist. “It was through his advice that the impost of ship money was levied, resulting in a controversy that helped trigger the English Civil War. Noy suffered from stones, and died in great pain . . . “
As to the Chief Justice, “Richardson was a capable lawyer and a weak man, much addicted to flouts and jeers.” Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 48, p. 248.
HAT TIP to Professors Stephen C. Yeazell and Samuel L. Bray of the UCLA School of Law, for leading us to this colorful account of the high water mark of judicial contempt powers. Professor Yeazell added the following insight: “Notice, too, if I am reading the report correctly that the prisoner had already been convicted; at the time the penalty for a felony conviction was death. So the contempt power resulted in his premature loss of a hand and an accelerated hanging.”
The Old Bailey Advocate Bringing Off A Thief. Summary: “"A barrister in wig, gown, and bands, in profile to the right, tramples on the prostrate body of Truth, putting his foot in her mouth..." 1789? Library of Congress.
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