Reeves, Chief Justice John National Historic Person
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
John Reeves by Thomas Hardy
(© National Portrait Gallery, London: NPG 2633)
Address :
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1995-07-06
Life Date:
1752 to 1829
Other Name(s):
-
Reeves, Chief Justice John
(Designation Name)
Research Report Number:
1995-020
Importance:
Important Newfoundland jurist and historian
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
This scholarly English lawyer played a pivotal role in shaping the judiciary system in Newfoundland. On his recommendation a civil Supreme Court was created in 1791, and then a permanent court with added criminal jurisdiction in 1792. Reeves became the islands first Chief Justice. His history of Newfoundland, which argued that English West Country merchants conspired to deny fishermen and settlers their just rights, remained the standard interpretation for nearly two centuries.