Richard le Blond
Richard le Blond (died after 1323) was an Irish lawyer and judge of the early fourteenth century. After serving for many years as Serjeant-at-law (Ireland) he was rewarded for his services to the Crown with a seat on the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland).
He was born in Arklow, County Wicklow. He was appointed King's Serjeant, as the office of Serjeant-at-law was then known, in 1298. He appears to have been diligent in arguing pleas on behalf of the English Crown: in 1301 he appeared for the Crown at the assizes in County Louth, and in the same year he was acting for the Crown in each of the royal Courts in Dublin. In 1309 he made the first of several official complaints against the maladministration of Geoffrey de Morton, a corrupt and unpopular local government official and former Mayor of Dublin. An inquiry was held into the allegations, but it ended inconclusively.
After a quarter of a century's service as Serjeant he was appointed to the Common Pleas in 1323.
Sources
- Ball, F. Elrington The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921 John Murray London 1926
- Hand, Geoffrey English Law in Ireland 1290-1324 Cambridge University Press 1967
- Hart, A. R. History of the King's Serjeants at law in Ireland Four Courts Press Dublin 2000