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Friday March 5, 1999 His achievement was to shape the common
law according to his own highly individual vision of society. Tom Denning was born in January 1899. His
father Charles owned a draper's shop in the Hampshire town of The young Denning loved the place so much
he made his home there, in a fine Regency house called The Lawn. He first married in 1932, but wife Mary
died nine years later. His second wife Joan, whom he married in 1945, died in
1992. Rise through ranks After taking two first-class degrees at Some 20 years later, he was Mr Justice Denning. After rapid promotion to the Court of
Appeal he became a law lord in 1957.
But the turning point came in 1962. That
was the year he stepped down from the House of Lords to a much more
influential post - Master of the Rolls. A year later, the public learned of an
affair between prostitute Christine Keeler and John Profumo, then Secretary
of State for War. When the scandal broke Lord Denning was
asked by the Conservative Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, to inquire into
security aspects of the affair. He sat alone and in private, even sending
the women shorthand-writers out because he thought some of the evidence was
so disgusting. As Lord Denning himself remarked, his
report was a best-seller. More than 100,000 people bought copies. It also put him firmly in the public eye.
In an age when judges shunned publicity, Lord Denning became the one judicial
figure everybody had heard of. During his 20 years as Master of the
Rolls, he could choose his own cases and the judges who were to sit with him.
So on most issues, he effectively had the last word. Not many cases went on to the House of
Lords, Law in his own hands But in seeking justice Lord Denning,
considered himself entitled to get round - or even change - any rule of law
that stood in his way. There was no need to wait for legislation. "Parliament does it too late,"
he argued. "It may take years and years before a statute can be passed
to amend a bad law. "The judge ... should make the law
correspond with the justice that the case requires." But Lord Denning's critics said his willingness
to overturn decided cases made for uncertainty in the law. Although he saw himself as champion of the
underdog - the ordinary citizen, the consumer, the
deserted wife - he supported employers against trade unions, education
authorities against students, and the Home Office against immigrants. Book provokes fury Lord Denning inspired great affection
among lawyers and it gave him pleasure to welcome new recruits to the
profession. He was still Master of the Rolls at the age of 83.
But his 1982 book What Next in the Law was
his downfall. In it, he seemed to suggest some black people were unsuitable
to serve on juries. His remarks followed a trial over a riot
in Lord Denning backed down and avoided
further conflict by apologising. He then announced
he would be retiring. Even in retirement he remained busy. He
continued writing, including the books Landmarks in Law and Leaves from my
Library. But his comments in retirement added
nothing to his reputation. Another apology followed his claim that the
Guildford Four, acquitted on appeal after being jailed for an IRA bombing,
were probably guilty of murder all along. Controversy in retirement Lord Denning's prejudices demonstrated the
risks of letting one man dispense justice. But they should not detract from a
judicial career unique in our time. Tom Denning stood firm for freedom under
the law, a phrase he coined. His whole life was devoted to justice. His
creativity was immense and his legacy will last for as long as the law
itself. His mind remained razor sharp despite old
age. And as his epitaph he chose: "Remembrance of me in good works, that is how I should like to be remembered." |
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