Roger Dawson-Yelverton

Roger Dawson-Yelverton (1845–1912) was a Welsh barrister, Chief Justice of the Bahamas from 1890 to 1893. Born Roger Yelverton Dawson, he changed his surname and was often known as Roger Yelverton or R. D. Yelverton.

Early life Yelverton was born 15 June 1845, the son of Roger Dawson and Barbara Yelverton Powys, and was educated at Rugby School. He matriculated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford in 1865, at age 20, and entered the Middle Temple in 1866. In 1867 he moved university, matriculating at Downing College, Cambridge, and was called to the bar at the Middle Temple, in 1869.

As a barrister he went the South-Eastern Circuit and became Deputy Judge of West London County Courts.

Chief Justice of the Bahamas Dawson-Yelverton was appointed Chief Justice in 1890 as successor to Henry William Austin. Like Austin, he clashed with Ormond Drimmie Malcolm, Attorney-General of the colony. Like Austin, he encountered opposition to reformative measures and impartial justice from Ambrose Shea, the colony's governor, who sided with the interests of a white business clique in the islands.

In 1892, Dawson-Yelverton became embroiled in a contempt of court dispute with Alfred Moseley, editor of the Nassau Guardian, Shea backed Moseley and, via a delegation of powers from the Colonial Office, released him from prison. A public row escalated,

The matter went to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Dawson-Yelverton argued for judicial independence. Lord Coleridge CJ made it clear to him that a letter to the Pall Mall Gazette alleging government corruption in the colony had made it impossible for him to return there. Dawson-Yelverton resigned in anticipation of a dismissal. He was succeeded by Charles George Walpole.

Later life After his time in the Bahamas, Dawson-Yelverton gave attention to miscarriages of justice, in particular the case of George Edalji in 1905. He organised a petition to the Home Secretary on Edalji's behalf. He also concerned himself with the Adolf Beck case.

Personal Dawson-Yelverton married in 1872 Ellen Lawrence, daughter of James Lawrence of Park Hill, Lancashire, a brewer who was Mayor of Liverpool in 1844, and sister of Edward Lawrence.

Yelverton's change of surname (Note: some sources conflate Barbara Yelverton Powys (Yelverton's mother) with her grandmother, the daughter of the 3rd Earl.)