John Toler, 1st Earl of NorburyPC, KC, known as The Lord Norbury between 1800 and 1827, was an Irish lawyer, politician and judge. A greatly controversial figure in his time, he was nicknamed the "Hanging Judge" and was considered to be one of the most corrupt legal figures in Irish history. He was Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas between 1800 and 1827.
In 1800 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas and raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Norbury, of Ballycrenode in the County of Tipperary. His appointment to the bench was controversial and Lord Clare, the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, is said to have quipped: "'Make him a bishop, or even an archbishop, but not a chief justice'". Norbury's tenure as Chief Justice lasted for twenty-seven years, despite the fact that, the Dictionary of National Biography opines, "his scanty knowledge of the law, his gross partiality, his callousness, and his buffoonery, completely disqualified him for the position. His court was in constant uproar owing to his noisy merriment. He joked even when the life of a human being was hanging in the balance." This earned him the nickname the "Hanging Judge". It has been said of him that he was "generally regarded as Ireland's most notorious judge with a penchant for hanging that ran even the infamous Judge Jeffreys close." His most famous trial was that of Irish nationalist leader Robert Emmet. Norbury interrupted and abused Emmet throughout the trial before sentencing him to death. In spite of this, with his strong belief in the Protestant ascendancy, he is considered to have had great influence over the government in Ireland in the early part of the nineteenth century. However, Norbury's position eventually became untenable even to his strongest supporters, especially with the British government's aim of establishing a better relationship with the Catholic majority. His reputation was tainted in 1822, when a letter written to him by William Saurin, the Attorney-General for Ireland, was discovered, in which Saurin urged Norbury to use his influence with the Irish Protestant gentry which made up local juries against the Catholics.. He found his greatest adversary in Daniel O'Connell, to whom Norbury was "an especial object of abhorrence". At O'Connell's instigation the case of Saurin's letter was brought before the British Parliament by Henry Brougham. Norbury survived this as well as an 1825 petition drawn up by O'Connell, which called for his removal on the grounds of him falling asleep during a murder trial and later being unable to present any account of the evidence given. However, it was not until George Canning became Prime Minister in 1827 that Norbury, then in his eighty-second year, was finally induced to resign. His resignation was sweetened by him being created Viscount Glandine and Earl of Norbury, of Glandine in King's County, in the Peerage of Ireland. Unlike the barony of Norbury these titles were created with remainder to his second son Hector John.
Family
Lord Norbury married Grace, daughter of Hector Graham, in 1778. They had two sons and two daughters. In 1797 Grace was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baroness Norwood, of Knockalton in the County of Tipperary, in honour of her husband. She died in 1822 and was succeeded in the barony by her eldest son, Daniel. Lord Norbury survived her by nine years and died at his Dublin home at 3 Great Denmark Street in July 1831, aged 85. He was succeeded in the barony of Norbury by his eldest son Daniel and in the viscountcy and earldom according to the special remainder by his second son, Hector. In 1832 the latter also succeeded his elder brother in the baronies of Norwood and Norbury. He was considered to be the father of John Brinkley.
