William Scott (justice)

Sir William Scott
28th Lord Chief Justice of England
In office 8 January 1341 – 26 November 1346
Monarch	Edward III
Prime Minister	Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster (1341-1345) Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster (1345-1346) (as Lord High Stewards)
Chancellor	Robert Parning (1341-1343) Robert Sadington (1343-1345) John de Ufford (1345-1346)
Preceded by	Robert Parning
Succeeded by	William de Thorpe

Sir William Scott (d. 1350s) was an English lawyer, and Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 8 January 1341 to 26 November 1346. Originally from Yorkshire – probably Birthwaite in Kexbrough – Scott as Chief Justice presided over trials resulting from Edward III's purge of the administration the previous years. Among those tried was William de la Pole. After retiring from this position, Scott largely withdrew from public life, probably because of ill health. He returned to Yorkshire to attend to his estates. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography says that he "was still alive on 10 March 1352...but was certainly dead by 11 May 1356, and probably by 1354".

Sources

• Henry Summerson, 'Scott, Sir William (d. 1352x6), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 9 August 2006