Jeffrey Gilbert (judge) facts for kids
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Sir Jeffrey Gilbert (1674–1726) was an important English lawyer, judge, and writer. He held a very high position as the Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in both Ireland and England. While he was a judge in Ireland, a regular court decision he made accidentally caused a big political problem. This led to him being held for a short time. Later, he became famous for his legal books, which were not published until after he died.
Contents
Early Life and Law Career
Jeffrey Gilbert was born in Goudhurst, a town in Kent, England, in 1674. His father, William Gilbert, was a farmer who passed away soon after Jeffrey was born. His mother, Elizabeth Gibbon, was related to the famous historian Edward Gibbon.
Gilbert became a lawyer in 1698 and was known for writing down court cases. He was a brilliant student who loved not only law but also religion and math. Just before he died, he became a member of the Royal Society, a famous group for scientists. He had the support of William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper, who became a top government official called the Lord Chancellor in 1714. In 1715, Gilbert was sent to Ireland to work as a judge in the King's Bench court.
Becoming a Judge in Ireland
Soon after Gilbert arrived in Ireland, the main judge of the Irish Exchequer Court, Joseph Deane, died suddenly. It seemed that no Irish judge was ready or able to take on this very difficult job. This role involved dealing with many old cases and fixing confusing legal rules.
Because Gilbert was willing and very skilled, he was promoted to this important position in July 1715. His first few years in Ireland were good. He received an honorary degree from the University of Dublin and was even called the "darling of the nation" in songs.
The Sherlock v Annesley Case
Gilbert's happy time in Ireland ended because of a court case called Sherlock v Annesley. This case had first been heard in 1709. When it came back to his court, it caused a big argument between the Irish House of Lords and the British House of Lords about who had the final say in legal appeals.
After the Case
After a short time, Gilbert was released. He found that he had gone from being "the darling of the nation" to being very unpopular. The British House of Lords reacted to the judges being held by passing a new law in 1719. This law, called the Sixth of George I, took away the Irish House of Lords' right to hear appeals. It also said that the British Parliament had the right to make laws for Ireland.
The Irish Lords were upset about losing their power. They blamed Gilbert instead of their own actions. A powerful church leader, Archbishop William King of Dublin, strongly criticized him. Gilbert also faced small problems, like not being able to find good places to stay when he traveled for court duties.
Judge in England
Even though he had few friends left in Ireland, Gilbert still had influence in London. He was offered the job of Lord Chancellor of Ireland, but he chose to return to England instead. In 1722, he became a judge in the English Exchequer Court.
In 1725, he was made a Commissioner of the Great Seal, which is a very important role. The same year, he became the Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer and was made a knight. However, he became very ill soon after. He passed away in Bath in October 1726 and was buried there. He never married. He had been elected a member of the Royal Society in May 1726.
There is a known painting of him in his judge's robes, made by the Swedish artist Michael Dahl.
His Important Law Books
Even though he was known as a great scholar, Gilbert published very little during his lifetime. After he died, many of his handwritten papers were found. These papers covered almost every area of English law. Over the next few decades, most of them were published, but not in a very organized way.
There were some interesting stories about how his books were published. In a major copyright case in 1774, another judge said he heard that Gilbert left his works to a colleague. This colleague hired someone to copy them, but the copyist supposedly stole them and sold them to a publisher. While this story might not be true, it's clear that the first versions of his books had many mistakes. Later editions had to be corrected.
However, everyone agrees that the quality of Gilbert's writing was amazing. Francis Elrington Ball, a famous writer, called Gilbert the most important author who ever served as a judge in Ireland.
The Law of Evidence
Gilbert's most famous and important book is The Law of Evidence. It was first published in 1754 and had six more editions that were much larger. It remained the leading book on evidence for 50 years. William Blackstone, another famous legal writer, praised it highly, saying it was so good that you couldn't shorten it without ruining it.
Its influence lessened after Jeremy Bentham criticized it in his own book on evidence in 1825. But it is still seen as a key moment in making evidence a separate part of law.
A main idea in this book is the best evidence rule. Even though there were a few mentions of this idea before, Gilbert is largely credited with creating it. He argued that "a person must have the best possible proof for a fact." He also came up with the idea of different "weights" or levels of evidence. For example, written evidence is more important than spoken evidence, and an original document is more important than a copy. This last rule is still considered good law today.
Other Important Works
Blackstone also admired Gilbert's book The History and Practice of Civil Law Actions. He praised Gilbert's skill in explaining where many modern legal rules came from. However, other critics pointed out many mistakes in the book and wondered if Gilbert had even planned to publish it.
His book Treatise on Tenures was important in both America and England. The US Supreme Court in 1815 called it "an excellent work," and future US President John Adams said he learned a lot from it. Gilbert's book Treatise on Rents was still considered a reliable source by the Supreme Court of Canada as late as 1951.
List of His Books
- Law of distresses and replevins (1730)
- Law of Uses and Trusts (1733)
- Law and Practice of Ejectments (1734)
- Reports of cases in Equity and the Exchequer (1734)
- The History and Practice of Civil Law Actions particularly in the Court of Common Pleas
- Treatise on Equity (1741)
- Law of Evidence (1754)
- Two Treatises on the Proceedings in Equity and the Jurisdiction of that Court, 2 vols. (Dublin, 1756-58)
- Treatise on Tenures (1757)
- History and Practice of the Court of Chancery (1758)
- Treatise on the Court of Exchequer (1758)
- Treatise on Rents (1758)
- Reports of cases in law and equity, including a Treatise on Debt and a Treatise on the Constitution (1760)
- Law of Executions (1763)
- Law of devises, last wills and revocations (1792)
