- Thomas Chitty
Thomas Chitty (1802 –
13 February ,1878 ) was an Englishlawyer and legalwriter who was pupil master to a generation of eminent lawyers and played a significant role in documenting the legal reforms of the nineteenth century.Early life
Thomas was the third son of Joseph Chitty and his wife, Elizabeth "née" Woodward. He was never
called to the bar but began to practise as aspecial pleader in 1820 at the early age of nineteen.Hamilton (2004)]Legal practice
Chitty practiced at
1 King's Bench Walk where he educated a generation of eminent pupils including:
*Hugh Cairns, a futureLord Chancellor ;
*Farrer Herschell, another;
*James Whiteside , a futureChief Justice of Ireland ;
*William Shee ; [Barker, G. F. R. (2004) " [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/25285 Shee, Sir William (1804–1868)] ", rev. Hugh Mooney, "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography ", Oxford University Press, accessed 24 July 2007 ODNBsub]- and sundry future
judge s andpolitician s.The practice of special pleader demanded mastery of detail and the technical intricacies of the law and Chitty's career spanned huge changes from the
Common Law Procedure Acts 1852-4 to the Judicature Acts 1873-5, reforms that changed the ancient regime of forms of action into, essentially, the modern system. Chitty exploited the opportunity in publishing a number of practitioners' texts including preparing new editions of:
*John Frederick Archbold 's "The Practice of the Court of King's Bench in Personal Actions and Ejectments", despite Archbold's objections;
*His father's "Treatise on the Parties to Actions";
*Richard Burn 's "Justice of the Peace" (1845);- and publishing several works in his own right including "Forms of Practical Proceedings" (1834). His grandsonT. Willes Chitty edited the 11th edition in 1879.Family, personality and death
"Chitty was known as a kind and genial man, a keen
whist player andmusician , and an energetic volunteer." He retired in 1877, and died at home inLondon .In 1826, he had married Eliza "née" Cawston and the couple parented two sons who followed their father's legal footsteps:
*Thomas Edward Chitty (1826/7-1868), clerk to theBristol assizes ; and
*Joseph William Chitty , became ajudge in 1881.References
Bibliography
*Obituaries:
**"Annual Register " (1878), 136
**"Solicitors' Journal, 23 (1877–8), 329
**"Law Journal", 23 Feb 1878, 131–2; 2 March 1878, 148 ----
*Hamilton, J. A. (2004) " [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/5338 Chitty, Thomas (1802–1878)] ", rev. Michael Lobban, "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography ", Oxford University Press, accessed 9 August 2007 ODNBsub
* cite book | author=Simpson, A. W. B. (ed.) | title=Biographical Dictionary of the Common Law | year=1984 | id=ISBN 040651657X | location=London | publisher=Butterworths
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