John Dodderidge | |
|---|---|
 Sir John Doddridge (1555–1628), Justice of the King's Bench, wearing his judicial robes. National Portrait Gallery. | |
| Member of Parliament for Horsham | |
| In office 1603-1611 | |
| Member of Parliament for Barnstaple | |
| In office 1588-? | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1555 |
| Died | 13 September 1628 (aged 72–73) Egham, Surrey, England |
| Spouse(s) | Joan Jermyn Dorothy Bampfield Anne Culme |
| Relatives | Pentecost Dodderidge (brother) |
| Education | Exeter College, Oxford |
Sir John Doddridge (akas: Doderidge or Dodderidge; 1555–1628) was an English lawyer, appointed Justice of the King's Bench in 1612 and served as Member of Parliament for Barnstaple in 1589 and for Horsham in 1604.[1] He was also an antiquarian and writer. He acquired the nickname "the sleeping judge" from his habit of shutting his eyes while listening intently to a case. As a lawyer he was influenced by humanist ideas, and was familiar with the ideas of Aristotle, and the debates of the period between his followers and the Ramists. He was a believer in both the rationality of the English common law and in its connection with custom.[2] He was one of the Worthies of Devon of the biographer John Prince (d.1723).