Anglo-Irish politician, lawyer, and judge (1804–1868)
Sir William Shee (24 June 1804 – 1868) was an Anglo-Irish politician, lawyer and judge, the first Roman Catholic judge to sit in England and Wales since the Reformation.
Shee's famous cases as an advocate included the Roupell case and leading the unsuccessful defence of poisonerWilliam Palmer in 1856.[1] In the latter case the defence case suffered adverse comment from the judge because Shee had, against all rules and conventions of professional conduct, told the jury that he personally believed Palmer to be innocent.[2] He edited a great number of legal publications.[1]
He gave his maiden speech on 12 November 1852 during the debate on the Queen's Speech.[3] Shee became active in Irish tenants' rights. William Sharman Crawford having failed to be re-elected in 1852, Shee took charge of, and reintroduced, his Tenant Right Bill on 25 November 1852. In December, he spoke in support of Sir Joseph Napier's Improvement Compensation Bill but both bills were rejected by a select committee. Shee submitted an amended bill in February 1854 but it fared poorly.[1]
In June 1854 he failed in a controversial motion for leave to introduce a bill to amend the laws on the political administration of the Church of Ireland, and to increase funds for Irish religious education and church building. In 1855, discouraged in his exertions as to reform, Shee consulted with Sharman Crawford and drafted a new Tenants' Improvement Compensation Bill, addressing some of the objections of the select committee. It fared no better than his earlier efforts. Shee's failure cost him the support of his voters and he lost his seat in the 1857 general election.[1]
Shee was defeated in Kilkenny again in 1859 general election and declined judicial office in Madras in 1860. He stood unsuccessfully in Stoke-on-Trent at a by-election in September 1862.[1]
Knott, G. H. (1912). The Trial of William Palmer (Notable English Trials ed.). Edinburgh: William Hodge & Co. The first edition of this text is available at Wikisource: "Shee, William" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.