William Moore Johnson
Sir William Moore Johnson, 1st Baronet, KC, PC (1828 – 9 December 1918)[1] was an Irish barrister and judge: he was held in great affection by the Bar, despite a reputation for stupidity which led to his nickname "Wooden-headed Billy".
He was the son of Rev. William Johnson, chancellor of the Diocese of Cloyne, and his wife Elizabeth Hamilton, daughter of the Rev. William Hamilton, Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin. He was educated at Dublin University, entered Lincoln's Inn in 1849, and was called to the Irish Bar four years later. In 1872, he became a Queen's Counsel.[2]
He was elected as a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Mallow in County Cork in 1880, and held the seat until 1883.[1] He also served as Solicitor General for Ireland from 1880 to 1881.[3] In 1881, he was sworn a member of the Privy Council of Ireland[4] and made Attorney General for Ireland.[3] He remained Attorney General until 1883, when he was appointed a Justice of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice in Ireland. He married Susan, daughter of Richard Bayly of Green Park, Kilmallock the following year.[2]
According to Maurice Healy, Johnson did not wish to become a judge (largely because Irish judges then were rather poorly paid) but when Attorney General he caused a furore, in the course of prosecuting Maurice's uncle Timothy Michael Healy, by publicly shaking his hand, and the Crown felt that it would be better if he ceased to be a Law Officer.
As a judge he was notorious for his inability to get the facts of a case right, leading to the nickname "Wooden-headed Billy".[5] Maurice Healy however adds that he was a fairly good lawyer and the kindest-hearted of men; in an era when many Irish judges, such as Hugh Holmes, Walter Boyd and William Drennan Andrews were noted for the severity of their sentences in criminal cases, Johnson was noted for his clemency.[6]
He was created a Baronet (of Dublin) in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom on 24 November 1909 after his retirement from the court that year. The title became extinct on his death.[3]
References
- 1 2 "Historical list of MPs: M". Leigh Rayment's peerage pages. Retrieved 2007-11-10.
- 1 2 Ball, F. Elrington (2005). The Judges in Ireland, 1221-1921. The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. pp. 374–375. Retrieved 2007-11-10.
- 1 2 3 "Baronets: J". Leigh Rayment's peerage pages. Retrieved 2007-11-10.
- ↑ "Privy councillors". Leigh Rayment's peerage pages. Retrieved 2007-11-10.
- ↑ Sullivan, A.M. Old Ireland Butterworths 1927
- ↑ Healy, Maurice The Old Munster Circuit Michael Joseph Ltd. London 1939
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John George MacCarthy |
Member of Parliament for Mallow 1880–1883 |
Succeeded by William O'Brien |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by Hugh Holmes |
Solicitor General for Ireland 1880–1881 |
Succeeded by Andrew Marshall Porter |
| Preceded by Hugh Law |
Attorney General for Ireland 1881–1883 |
Succeeded by Andrew Marshall Porter |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baronet (of Dublin) 1909–1919 |
Extinct |