List of trials of peers in the House of Lords
This is a list of trials of peers in the House of Lords. Until 1948, peers of the United Kingdom and its predecessor states had the right to trial by peers.
| Year | Peer | Charge | Verdict | Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1499 | The Earl of Warwick | treason | pleaded guilty | death |
| 1522 | The Duke of Buckingham | treason | guilty | death |
| 1535 | The Lord Dacre | treason | not guilty | |
| 1536 | The Queen | treason | guilty | death |
| Viscount Rochford | ||||
| 1541 | The Lord Dacre | murder | guilty | death |
| 1551 | The Duke of Somerset | treason | guilty of an unspecified felony | death |
| 1553 | The Duke of Northumberland | treason | guilty | death |
| 1571 | The Duke of Norfolk | treason | guilty | death |
| 1589 | The Earl of Arundel and Surrey | treason | guilty | death (died before sentence was carried out) |
| 1600 | The Earl of Essex | treason | guilty | death |
| The Earl of Southampton | death (pardoned) | |||
| 1603 | The Lord Grey | treason | guilty | death (commuted to imprisonment) |
| The Lord Cobham | ||||
| 1616 | The Earl of Somerset | murder | guilty | death (pardoned) |
| 1616 | The Countess of Somerset | murder | pleaded guilty | death (pardoned) |
| 1631 | The Earl of Castlehaven | rape and sodomy | guilty | death |
| 1641 | The Earl of Strafford | treason | prosecution dropped | |
| 1666 | The Lord Morley | murder | guilty of manslaughter | pleaded privilege* |
| 1678 | The Lord Cornwallis | murder | not guilty | |
| 1678 | The Earl of Pembroke | murder | guilty of manslaughter | pleaded privilege* |
| 1680 | The Viscount Stafford | treason | guilty | death |
| 1686 | The Lord Delamere | treason | not guilty | |
| 1692 | The Lord Mohun | murder | not guilty | |
| 1699 | The Earl of Warwick and Holland | murder | guilty of manslaughter | pleaded privilege* |
| 1699 | The Lord Mohun | murder | not guilty | |
| 1716 | The Earl of Derwentwater | treason | pleaded guilty | death |
| The Lord Widdrington | death (pardoned) | |||
| The Earl of Nithsdale | death (escaped) | |||
| The Earl of Carnwath | death (pardoned) | |||
| The Viscount Kenmure | death | |||
| The Lord Nairne | death (pardoned) | |||
| 1716 | The Earl of Winton | treason | guilty | death (escaped) |
| 1717 | The Earl of Oxford and Mortimer | treason | not guilty | |
| 1746 | The Earl of Kilmarnock | treason | pleaded guilty | death |
| The Earl of Cromartie | pleaded guilty | death (pardoned) | ||
| The Lord Balmerinoch | guilty | death | ||
| 1747 | The Lord Lovat | treason | guilty | death |
| 1760 | The Earl Ferrers | murder | guilty | death |
| 1765 | The Lord Byron | murder | guilty of manslaughter | pleaded privilege* |
| 1776 | The Duchess of Kingston | bigamy | guilty | pleaded privilege* |
| 1841 | The Earl of Cardigan | duelling | not guilty | |
| 1901 | The Earl Russell | bigamy | guilty | 3 months' detention |
| 1935 | The Lord de Clifford | manslaughter | not guilty | |
| *These were all capital crimes; the usual sentence was death. From 1547 if a peer or peeress was convicted of a crime, except treason or murder, he or she could claim "privilege of peerage" to escape punishment if it was their first offence. In all, the privilege was exercised five times, until it was formally abolished in 1841. | ||||
| Lovell, C. R. (October 1949) "The Trial of Peers in Great Britain" The American Historical Review 55: 69–81 | ||||
Further reading
- The Trial of James Thomas, Earl of Cardigan before The Right Honourable The House of Peers, in Full Parliament, for Felony, On Tuesday the 16th Day of February 1841. William Brodie Gurney et al, London, 1841.
- First Report from the Select Committee of the House of Lords on The Trial of the Earl Russell. HL Paper 143 of session 1901.
- Second Report from the Select Committee of the House of Lords on The Trial of the Earl Russell. HL Paper 145 of session 1901.
- Third Report from the Select Committee of the House of Lords on The Trial of the Earl Russell. HL Paper 157 of session 1901.
- Proceedings on the Trial of Earl Russell. HL Paper 165 of session 1901.
- Report By the Select Committee of the House of Lords on the Trial of the Lord de Clifford together with the Proceedings of the Committee. HL Paper 153 of session 1934-35.
- Proceedings on the Trial of the Lord de Clifford. HL Paper 12 of session 1935-36.
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