Oswald Smith Crocket
Oswald Smith Crocket | |
|---|---|
| Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada | |
| In office September 21, 1932 – April 13, 1943 | |
| Nominated by | Richard Bedford Bennett |
| Preceded by | Edmund Leslie Newcombe |
| Succeeded by | Ivan Rand |
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for York, New Brunswick | |
| In office November 3, 1904 – December 10, 1913 | |
| Preceded by | Alex Gibson, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Harry Fulton McLeod |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 13, 1868 |
| Died | March 2, 1945 (aged 76) Ottawa, Ontario |
| Party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Clarine Stevenson |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence(s) | Chapel St, Ottawa |
Oswald Smith Crocket (April 13, 1868 – March 2, 1945) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Born in Chatham, New Brunswick, the son of William Crocket and Marion Caldwell, he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1886 from the University of New Brunswick. He was called to the Bar in 1892 and practised law.
In 1904, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the riding of York, New Brunswick as a Conservative. He was re-elected in 1908 and 1911.
In 1913, he was appointed the appointed to the Supreme Court of New Brunswick, King's Bench in 1913.[1] In 1916, he was concurrently appointed a judge of the Court of Divorce and Matrimonial Cases of New Brunswick.
Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
On September 21, 1932, Prime Minister R.B. Bennett appointed Crocket to the Supreme Court at the age of 64, filling the vacancy left by the death of Edmund Leslie Newcombe on December 9, 1931.[2] Bennett had struggled to identify a suitable candidate from New Brunswick, even writing to Premier Charles Dow Richards that there was "no one in New Brunswick fitted by training and experience to become a member of the Court."[1] Although Bennett thought of Crocket as a friend, he worried that Crocket's judicial experience was limited to the trial level, with no service on an appellate court.[1] Crocket served until reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 in 1943.
According to Snell and Vaughan, Crocket was a weak appointment: he was regarded as inflexible, deeply traditionalist in his outlook, and that approach created friction with future Chief Justice Duff.[3]
Later life
He died in 1945,[4] at home.[5]
References
- ^ a b c Snell & Vaughan 1985, p. 147.
- ^ Bushnell 1992, p. 250.
- ^ Snell & Vaughan 1985, p. 148.
- ^ "Last Honors Paid Hon. O. S. Crocket". The Ottawa Journal. 6 Mar 1945. p. 7. Retrieved 27 December 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Crocket". The Ottawa Journal. 3 Mar 1945. p. 22. Retrieved 27 December 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
Further reading
- Bushnell, Ian (1992). Captive Court: A Study of the Supreme Court of Canada. McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 978-0-7735-0851-4.
- Snell, James G.; Vaughan, Frederick (1985). The Supreme Court of Canada: History of the Institution. Toronto: The Osgoode Society. ISBN 978-0-8020-3417-5.