For those who think the law has always been about justice and protection of the vulnerable, it’s hard to imagine the arduous process the discipline has undergone to reach today’s era of fair treatment and affordability for all. Much of what we consider to be reasoned process in the courts can be credited to William Garrow who was born in 1760 and became a leading figure at the Old Bailey between 1783 and 1793.
The story of William Garrow
The son of a priest, Garrow was educated at his father’s school in the village of Monken Hadley before being apprenticed to attorney, Thomas Southouse. As a law student, Garrow was able to attend and observe many cases at the Old Bailey before he eventually became a solicitor. Obviously his student observations gave him ample opportunity to see where the law was unjust. When called to the Bar in 1783 he began to expose the system through deft argument and a determined pursuit of fairness. It was not long before his innovative and certainly riveting approach became widely known, establishing him as a formidable criminal defense counsel.
To the thrall of the public gallery, Garrow presented an aggressive and confrontational style of cross-examination. And if he did not win his case, he managed to at least obtain more lenient punishments for his convicted clients which, in a time when many crimes carried the death penalty, were no mean achievement. He never ceased to amaze both fellow barristers and defendants with his studied knowledge of the shadowy world of crime of late 18th century London.
He soon developed a large practice, working both at the Old Bailey and outside London as both defense counsel and prosecutor. One of his contemporaries, and often opponent in court, Thomas Erskine, said admiringly of him: “He knows more of the real justice and policy of everything connected with criminal law than any man I am acquainted with.” By 1793 he was made a King’s Counsel and in 1812, received his knighthood and was appointed Solicitor General for England and Wales. In 1813, Sir William Garrow became Attorney General.
Garrow’s legacy
Garrow is noted for changing the process of court cases forever – and in the following ways:
- He had an impact on the rules of evidence, which were only just beginning to evolve when he started his career. He insisted that hearsay and copied documents could not be admitted in evidence, leading to the best evidence rule that still applies today.
- He was crucial in insisting on the autonomy of lawyers when inducting evidence, in one case openly arguing with the trial judge to insist that the advocates have independence in submitting it.
- One of the first barristers to ensure equality, honesty and factuality in the process of trial and conviction, he insisted that no matter the accused or plaintiff’s status, evidence should be thoroughly tested in court before judgments could be made. Known for his indirect reform of the advocacy system, he was the originator of the phrase: ‘presumed innocent until proven guilty’.
- In a system where position and money counted favourably in legal issues, Garrow worked aggressively in defense of poorer clients, helping to establish the modern adversarial system we enjoy today. So unique and effective was his dogged pursuit of justice and fairness, that he became famous in his own time for being as tenacious a prosecutor as he was a defender.
- Through his tireless work for those who could not afford defense counsel, and in partnership with his associate, John Southouse, he became the champion of the underdog, pioneering the process of rigorous cross-examination of prosecution witnesses – a technique that still sets the standard for our modern legal system.
Garrow the man
Garrow’s desire for truth, honesty and justice drove him to change the entire nature of how a trial was conducted – creating powerful enemies in his time, both within his own fraternity and across the underworld of the late 18th century.
Driven by his unshakeable conviction of what was right and reasonable, William Garrow was a man ahead of his time. Passionate, articulate, razor-sharp and with impeccable integrity, he changed the law forever by ensuring delivery of justice to all levels of society. Without his dedication and determination, the poor and the ignorant would no doubt have continued to suffer the unspeakable injustice of the previous centuries where even children as young as ten could be hanged for stealing a piece of bread.
The measure of Garrow the man, can be found not only in his pursuit of justice and fairness in the courts, but equally in his fight for animal rights. In the early 19th century animal cruelty was widespread in England. Appalled by the accepted practice of riding horses until their severe injury or death, he sponsored a bill in 1816 to increase the penalties for this barbarity. He was defeated in his objective but was later vindicated when a bill introduced by Thomas Erskine, in 1820 was given the Royal Assent and came into law.
Truth, facts and fairness
Building upon Garrow’s hard-fought tenet, legal action today has been made even more affordable through the introduction of the ‘no win, no fee’ policy where people are offered the opportunity to fight for their rights without having to face insurmountable attorney fees.
At Simpsons, we live the Garrow legacy. Not only do we offer the ‘no win, no fee’ model to all our clients – but we have also adopted innovative legal models to ensure every South African is able to receive the advice and support they need. Specialising in personal injury claims resulting from motor vehicle accidents, medical negligence and product and public liability, we care about our clients, focusing on personal considerations as well as facts and procedural knowledge. The law must take its course – but it must do so within the egalitarian rules as laid down by the remarkable Sir William Garrow, promoting fairness and accessibility for all.
Background reading you may find of interest: “Sir William Garrow: His Life, Times and Fight for Justice” by John Hostettler and Richard Braby.
To find out more about Simpsons, please visit: www.simpsons.co.za
