Law Amusement
Surreal law facts
The truth is always stranger than fiction.
The dancing judge
Sir Christopher Hatton became chief justice and minister of justice of England not because of any skills as a lawyer. He was a lawyer - but he was a better partier and catching the eye of Queen Elizabeth never hurt any good Englishman's chances.
Fuller writes that after studying law, Hatton:
"... he came afterwards to court in a mask, where the Queen (Elizabeth) first took notice of him, loving him well for his handsome dancing.... The queen at last preferred him Lord Chancellor of England. The gown-men, grudging hereat, conceived his advancement their injury, that one not thoroughly bred in the laws should be preferred to the place."
Queen Elizabeth affectionately called Hatton her little sheep (mouton). Hatton amassed a fortune because of the Queen's preferences - including his tenure as Lord Chancellor from 1587 to 1591 - and yet the lawyer never married, always under the spell of the flirtatious queen.
The swimming judge
Lancelot Shadwell (1779-1850) was Vice-Chancellor from 1827 to his death in 1850, the second most senior judge of all England. One day, he was enjoying a nice, peaceful swim in the middle of the Thames River, London, near his residence at Barn Elms, when he was tracked down by two lawyers, one of which was seeking an urgent injuction.
"Go ahead", shouted the Vice Chancellor, and he continued to tread water while the two lawyers presented their cases and he, once satisfied, rendered judgment while never leaving the river.
Walford writes of Shadwell:
"... he was a fine swimmer ... (O)n more than one occasion those who came from London to see him on legal affairs had to talk to him whilst he was in the water and to receive his replies as they waited on the banks."
Source: www.duhaime.org
