24 Facts About John Lawrance

Sir John Compton Lawrance, PC was an English judge and Conservative Party politician.

John Lawrance was Conservative MP for South Lincolnshire from 1880 to 1885 and for Stamford from 1885 until 1890, when he was appointed to the High Court, where he served until 1912.

One of Lord Halsbury's political appointments to the bench as Lord Chancellor, Lawrance acquired a degree of notoriety for his incompetence as a judge, at least in commercial cases.

John Lawrance was said to be a good criminal judge and was personally well-liked.

John Lawrance was the only son of Thomas Munton John Lawrance of Dunsby Hall, Lincolnshire and his wife Louisa, nee Compton.

John Lawrance was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1859, became a Queen's Counsel in 1877, and a bencher of Lincoln's Inn in 1879.

John Lawrance was not well known in London and mainly practiced on the Midland Circuit; he practiced as a revising barrister.

John Lawrance was appointed Recorder of Derby in 1879 and was a JP for Lincolnshire.

In 1878, John Lawrance stood unsuccessfully for Parliament as a Conservative at a by-election in Peterborough, but at the 1880 general election he was elected as Member of Parliament for South Lincolnshire.

That constituency was abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, and at the 1885 general election John Lawrance was elected MP for Stamford.

John Lawrance was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Lincolnshire in 1886.

John Lawrance was appointed a Justice of the High Court in 1890, in succession to Mr Justice Field.

John Lawrance was assigned to the King's Bench Division, receiving the customary knighthood on 30 June 1890.

The Daily News said John Lawrance was unfit for the lowest judicial appointment.

The Law Times wrote that "This is a bad appointment, for although a popular man and a thorough English gentleman, Mr John Lawrance has no reputation as a lawyer, and has been rarely seen of recent years in the Royal Courts of Justice".

The Law Journal cautiously welcomed the appointment, noting his professional experience, knowledge of business, and high character, though it commented that "probably Mr John Lawrance does affect to be a great lawyer".

John Lawrance listened with a semblance of interest to Cohen and Gorell Barnes, reserved judgment, and forgot all about the case.

John Lawrance continued to sit in the King's Bench Division, eventually becoming the most senior judge in the King's Bench Division.

At the hearing of the Maidstone petition, he sat with Mr Justice Grantham, another former Conservative MP elevated by Halsbury, who was the subject of a motion of censure in the House of Commons for his perceived partiality toward the Conservative candidate, but John Lawrance's conduct was not questioned.

John Lawrance was sworn of the Privy Council on 19 July, and died on 5 December 1912, aged 80.

Mr Justice J C Lawrance was a stupid man, a very ill-equipped lawyer, and a bad judge.

John Lawrance was not the worst judge I have appeared before: that distinction I would assign to Mr Justice Ridley [another Conservative MP controversially elevated by Halsbury].

However, John Lawrance had his defenders, especially from the criminal bar.

John Lawrance was personally well-liked: he was said to possess "an unostentatious sense of humour and a commendable gift of reticence".