Meigh Goodman

{{Infobox person | name = Sir W. Meigh Goodman | image = William_Meigh_Goodman.jpg | caption = Sir W. Meigh Goodman, Chief Justice of Hong Kong | birth_date = 1847 | birth_place = | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1928|05|03|1847||}} | alma_mater = [[University College of London]] | occupation = Lawyer, Chief Justice }}

'''Sir William Meigh Goodman''' {{ post-nominals | list = [[King's Counsel|KC]] }} (1847 – 3 May 1928) was a British lawyer and Judge. He served as Attorney General and Chief Justice of [[British Honduras]] and Hong Kong in the late 19th and early 20th Century.

His last position before retirement was as [[Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong|Chief Justice of Hong Kong]].

==Early life==

Goodman was born in 1847 and was the fourth son of Samuel Robert Goodman, of London. Goodman was educated at [[University College of London]] where he obtained a B.A.(hons) in 1867. He was called to the Bar at the [[Middle Temple]] in 1870.<ref>{{cite book|title=The county families of the United Kingdom|publisher=Ballantyne & Co. |edition=59|year=1919|page=546|url=https://archive.org/details/countyfamiliesof59walf/page/n573/mode/1up}}</ref> He practised on the South Eastern Circuit and at the Surrey Sessions.<ref name="Kyshe">{{cite book|title=History of the Laws and Courts of Hong Kong, vol. II|last=Norton-Kyshe|first=James William|date=1898|publisher=T Fisher Unwin|place=London}}</ref>{{rp|412n}}

== Career == Goodman served as [[Attorney General]] of [[British Honduras]] (now Belize) from 1883 to 1886 and as [[Chief Justice]] of the same colony from 1886 to 1889. In 1886, he was commissioned to revise and consolidate the laws of British Honduras.<ref name="Kyshe" />{{rp|412n}} In 1889, Goodman was appointed [[Attorney General of Hong Kong|Attorney-General]] and Admiralty Advocate of Hong Kong, taking up his post upon arrival on the ''City of Rio de Janeiro'' on 15 March of the next year. He was the first attorney-general of Hong Kong required to forego private practice.<ref name="Kyshe" />{{rp|416}} He served as acting Chief Justice from 6 March to 7 August 1895, during the absence of Sir [[Fielding Clarke]], and for another four months in 1896 after the latter's retirement<ref name="Kyshe" />{{rp|460,467,476,478}} and was appointed a [[Queen's Counsel]] in 1900.<ref>London Gazette, 26 June 1900, p3963.</ref>

In March 1902, he was appointed [[Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong|Chief Justice of Hong Kong]]<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=27415 |page=1727 |date=11 March 1902}}</ref> and led the court until 1905.<ref>The County Families of UK, op cit</ref> He was appointed a [[Knight Bachelor]] in the November [[1902 Birthday Honours]],<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Birthday Honours |date=10 November 1902 |page=10 |issue=36921}}</ref> and received the dignity on 9 December 1902.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27502 |page=8509 |date=9 December 1902 }}</ref> In 1903 he presided over the laying of the foundation stone for the new Hong Kong Supreme Court building.<ref>W Goodman, Reminiscences of a Colonial Judge, p. 306.</ref>

==Personal life== After the loss of his wife to a brief illness on 22 May 1890, Goodman took a leave of absence from 8 July until 7 January the next year.<ref name=Kyshe />{{rp|421,427}}

He retired to England in 1905 and, in 1907, his book ''Reminiscences of a Colonial Judge'' was published. Though going by his second given name, he used the initial W on official documents.

He died on 3 May 1928 at the age of 81.<ref>Obituary, [[The Straits Times|Straits Times]], 10 July 1928, p7.</ref>

== References == {{Reflist | 30em }}

{{Clear}} {{ s-start }} {{ s-legal }} {{ s-bef | before = [[John Worrell Carrington|Sir John W Carrington]] }} {{ s-ttl | title = [[Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong]] | years = 1902–1905 }} {{ s-aft | after = [[Francis Piggott (judge)|Sir Francis T Piggott]] }} {{ s-end }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodman, William Meigh}} [[Category:1847 births]] [[Category:1928 deaths]] [[Category:English civil servants]] [[Category:Chief justices of British Honduras]] [[Category:Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong]] [[Category:Attorneys general of Hong Kong]] [[Category:Hong Kong Queen's Counsel]] [[Category:Knights Bachelor]] [[Category:Attorneys-general of British Honduras]] [[Category:Alumni of University College London]]