John Fortescue (judge)

Sir John Fortescue ( 1394 – December 1479) was the Chief Justice of the King's Bench of England and the author of De laudibus legum Angliæ (Commendation of the Laws of England, first published posthumously around 1543), an influential treatise on English law. In the course of Henry VI's reign, Fortescue was appointed one of the governors of Lincoln's Inn three times and served as a Member of Parliament from 1421 to 1437. He became one of the King's Serjeants during the Easter term of 1441, and subsequently served as Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 25 January 1442 to Easter term 1460.