Luke Fox

Luke Fox was a judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland in the early 19th century. In 1805, he was accused of judicial misconduct over his handling of a number of cases. Three petitions were presented to the House of Lords alleging that he had allowed his political preferences to sway his conduct as a judge. He was accused of trying to persuade a grand jury to find a verdict for political reasons, fining a High Sheriff for tardiness without good cause, insulting a trial jury, and defaming John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn, who was described as "the last man whom one could attack with impunity".

The Prime Minister urged the Lords to abandon the case against Fox; they complied with his request, and Fox continued to serve for a further eleven years, altogether he had sought early retirement quite soon after his appointment. Fox was privately educated by a Dr. Armstrong. He graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 1779 and entered Lincoln's Inn in 1781. His father was not a rich man, and had a large family to support, and Luke paid his way through university by giving private tuition lessons. He was called to the Irish Bar in 1784 and practised on the north-western circuit. He was an excellent lawyer. He joined the Whig Club and wrote political pamphlets for the Whig Party.

In 1790 he made an extremely advantageous marriage to Anne, daughter of Richard Annesley and Mary Tottenham, and niece of Charles Loftus, 1st Marquess of Ely.

His conduct after his elevation seemed to be specially designed to irritate the Government: apart from his extraordinary behaviour on circuit in 1803, which led to the attempt to remove him from office, he was often absent from duty in England for months on end. while another critical witness described him as "vulgar, coarse, harsh and cunning". He was a firm believer in judicial independence. His strange conduct while on the North-West circuit in 1803, which led to his abortive impeachment, is difficult to explain, even allowing for his hot temper: Ball states that he "lost his head completely". He was accused of partisan political motives; on the other hand, as Ball remarks, the Robert Emmet rising and the murder of the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, Arthur Wolfe, 1st Viscount Kilwarden, had left the whole judiciary in an extremely agitated state, and better-tempered men than Fox were behaving strangely.