Difference between revisions of "Notes of Cases in Points of Practice"

Revision as of 10:16, 10 March 2015

by Sir Henry Barnes

Notes of Cases in Points of Practice
Title not held by The Wolf Law Library at the College of William & Mary.
Author	Sir Henry Barnes
Editor
Translator
Published	London, In the Savoy:
Date	1740
Edition
Language	English
Volumes	volume set
Pages
Desc.

Henry Barnes was a secondary and a clerk of errors in the Court of Common Pleas.^[1] In Notes he is described as a “gentleman of the Middle Temple.”^[2] He was buried on January 20, 1773 in the Hampstead area of northern London.

Notes of Cases in Points of Practice reported cases decided in the Court of Common Pleas during the reign of King George II. The second edition covers cases up to the year 1756. By its third edition it contained over 2500 cases, which are reported very briefly out of necessity.^[3] According to nineteenth century legal author J.G. Marvin the reported cases are not always highly reliable, but he also notes that perfect accuracy should not be expected with such a high number of cases being decided by different judges. ^[4]

Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas William de Grey owned a copy of the second edition, and received it while he occupied that position.^[5] The reason for his ownership of the book could have been to address his lack of familiarity with the practice and precedent of Common Pleas, as most of his experience came from the King’s Bench.^[6] He may have also received it as a gift from the author.^[7] During De Grey’s time as Lord Chief Justice Barnes’ book was cited regularly during oral argument. ^[8] The third edition was called ‘very useful’ by a contemporary legal bibliography, which also described it as being scarce at the time.^[9]

Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library

References

1. ↑ Marvin, Legal Bibliography, 94-95.
2. ↑ Henry Barnes, Notes of Cases in Points of Practice (Savoy: R. and B. Nutt and R. Gosling), Title Page.
3. ↑ J.G. Marvin, Legal Bibliography on a Thesaurus of American, English, Irish and Scotch Law Books (Philadelphia: T. & J. W. Johnson, Law Booksellers, 1847), 94-95.
4. ↑ Ibid.
5. ↑ Emily Kadens, "The Puzzle of Judicial Education: The Case of Chief Justice William De Grey," Brooklyn Law Review 75 (2009-2010): 177.
6. ↑ Ibid., 178.
7. ↑ Ibid., 179.
8. ↑ Ibid.
9. ↑ Francis Hargrave, “A register of law publications,” in Collectanea Juridicia: Consisting of Tracts Relative to the Law of England (London: E. and R. Brooke, Bell-Yard, Temple-Bar, 1791), 14.