James Reynolds

Sir James Reynolds (1686–1739) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1717 until 1725 when he was appointed a judge. He was Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer from 1730 to 1738. He should not be confused with his close relative (most likely his nephew) Sir James Reynolds who was Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas in the same era.

Reynolds was the son of James Reynolds of Helions Bumpstead in Essex and his second wife Bridget Parker. He was educated at Bury Grammar School and was admitted at Queens' College, Cambridge in 1702 and at Middle Temple in 1703. He then entered Lincoln's Inn in 1705 and was called to the Bar in 1712. He was returned as Member of Parliament for Bury St Edmunds at a by-election on 16 May 1717. At the 1722 general election, he was elected MP for Bury St Edmunds again. He vacated his seat and his position as Recorder on 2 April 1725 when he was appointed a judge of the Court of King's Bench.

As a barrister, Reynold's most notable case was the lawsuit on the question as to whether King George I had sole rights over the care and education of his grandchildren (1718).

Foss praises him as a judge who throughout his career endeavoured to do his duty "without fear or affection, prejudice or passion". Their precise relationship has been a matter of some debate, but it seems that the Chief Baron, though two years younger, was the Irish Chief Justice's uncle, the latter being the son of Robert Reynolds, a much older half-brother of the Chief Baron.