John Walter Huddleston English judge, former criminal lawyer Date of Birth: 08.09.1815 Country: Great Britain

1. Biography of Sir John Walter Huddleston
2. Early Life and Education
3. Criminal Lawyer and Judge
4. Political Career
5. Judicial and Personal Life

Biography of Sir John Walter Huddleston

Sir John Walter Huddleston, an English judge and former criminal lawyer, earned an outstanding reputation by taking on various high-profile court cases. He was bestowed the title of Baron while serving as a judge at the Ministry of Finance. Shortly after, the Ministry was incorporated into the Supreme Court of Judicature, and Huddleston lost his title. He sometimes referred to himself as the last of the barons.

Early Life and Education

Sir John Walter Huddleston was born in Dublin, Ireland, on September 8, 1815. He was the eldest son of Thomas Huddleston, a merchant navy officer, and Alethea Hichens. He received his secondary education in his hometown before attending Trinity College. Although Huddleston did not complete his studies at the college, he worked at a public school for some time before joining the distinguished society of Gray's Inn. He was granted the right to practice in higher courts in 1839.

Criminal Lawyer and Judge

Initially, Huddleston traveled to the provinces to administer justice under the Oxford circuit system, taking on cases involving the lower classes. He developed his own criminal trial procedure during quarterly sessions in Middlesex and at the Old Bailey, notably using it in the prosecution of William Palmer. He defended the Chartist William Cuffay in 1848 and secured an acquittal for Catherine Newton, on her third trial for the murder of her own mother, in 1859. Huddleston became a Queen's Counsel in 1857 and served as the Treasurer of Gray's Inn in 1859 and 1868.

Political Career

Huddleston made several unsuccessful attempts to enter the world of politics. Eventually, he was elected as a Member of Parliament for Canterbury in 1865. He lost his seat in 1868 but was reelected in Norwich in 1874.

Judicial and Personal Life

Sir John Walter Huddleston served as a judge advocate responsible for overseeing the military courts-martial system in the Royal Navy from 1865 to 1875. He became a senior barrister of the Court of Common Pleas and was knighted. Huddleston later moved to the Ministry of Finance, which quickly became a department of the Treasury Solicitor's Office. As a judge and lawyer, Huddleston never achieved a remarkable reputation in the latter profession. As a judge, he was stubborn and fearless, exerting a strong influence on juries. It was noted that Huddleston wore colored gloves in court, black for murder cases, pale lilac for breach of promise to marry, and white for more traditional cases.

Huddleston suffered from chronic illnesses during the last decade of his life before passing away on December 5, 1890, in South Kensington. He was buried at Brookwood Cemetery in Woking. It is known that in 1872, Huddleston married Diana de Vere Beauclerk (1842-1905), the daughter of William Beauclerk, 9th Duke of St Albans. John had a love for theater and horse racing. He was an avid reader and spoke fluent French, having delivered a speech at the funeral of French lawyer and parliamentary speaker Pierre Antoine Berryer.