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Richard Aston | |
|---|---|
 Arms, displayed atLincoln's Inn[1] | |
| Born | 1717 (1717) Great Britain |
| Died | 1 March 1778 (aged 60–61) Great Britain |
| Occupation | Judge |
Sir Richard Aston (1717 – 1 March 1778) was an English judge who served asKing's Counsel and Lord Chief Justice of theCourt of Common Pleas inIreland. Aston worked to reform law practice, specifically to change the process in whichbills of indictment were issued without the examination of witnesses. After leaving his post in Ireland, he joinedLord Mansfield's court.
Aston was the son of Richard Aston,Esq., ofWadley House atLittleworth inFaringdon,Berkshire (nowOxfordshire), grandson ofSir Willoughby Aston,Bart., and great-grandson ofSir Thomas Aston, the first of theAston baronets. The Astons derived their name fromAston inCheshire, where the family had been settled since the time ofHenry II. His mother, Elizabeth, was a daughter of John Warren, Esq., ofOxfordshire.[2]
The date Aston began practicising as abarrister is unclear but his name appears in the first volume of SirJames Burrow'sReports of Cases in the King's Bench (1756–1758). He becameKing's Counsel in 1759 and Lord Chief Justice of theCourt of Common Pleas inIreland in 1761 afterSir William Yorke's resignation. In 1765, after SirThomas Denison, a judge of theKing's Bench in England, resigned, Aston gave up his post in Ireland to return to the English court. At this time, he was knighted.[2]
In 1768, Aston was a member ofLord Mansfield's court and was among those who judged the conviction ofJohn Wilkes for the publication of twoseditious libels inEssay on Woman and in issue 45 ofThe North Briton. Wilkes argued that the charges, which branded him anoutlaw, were unlawful and, on certain technical grounds, invalid. Aston, along withJoseph Yates andJohn Willes, found that the language on Wilkes' writ was indeed incomplete. The court agreed that it was invalid. Because the grounds of the writ's dismissal were so technical, rumors spread among Wilkes' detractors that he had bribed Willes and Aston with lottery tickets, and that Aston had been seen selling them at theRoyal Exchange. On 20 January 1770, afterCharles Yorke's death by suicide, theRockingham administration selected Aston,Sidney Stafford Smythe, andHenry Bathurst as commissioners. Because the three judges had no experience withchancery law, they made enough mistakes that, one year after their appointment, they returned theGreat Seal. Back in Lord Mansfield's court, Aston helped sentenceJohn Horne Tooke for seditious libel in 1777.
Aston worked to reform legal practice after learning that grand juries regularly made decisions aboutbills of indictment after viewing only thedeposition and not speaking with witnesses. His colleagues mostly disapproved of his work. In 1816, nearly 40 years after Aston's death, a bill making the examination of witnesses obligatory was introduced into theHouse of Commons byFrancis Horner and passed into law.
Aston was said to have been a brusque man. He was married twice, first to Miss Elred, then to Rebecca Rowland. He died in 1778 and left noissue to either of his wives.[2]
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| Preceded by | Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas 1761–65 | Succeeded by |
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