page_title: George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys
section_title: Early career
hierarchical_section_title: George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys / Early career
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait of Judge George Jeffreys, First Baron of Wem
context_page_description: George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys, PC, also known as "the Hanging Judge", was a Welsh judge. He became notable during the reign of King James II, rising to the position of Lord Chancellor. His conduct as a judge was to enforce royal policy, resulting in a historical reputation for severity and bias.
context_section_description: He embarked on a legal career in 1668, becoming a Common Serjeant of London in 1671. He was aiming for the post of Recorder of London, but was passed over for this in 1676 in favour of William Dolben. He turned instead to the Court and became Solicitor General to the Duke of York and of Albany (later King James II & VII), the younger brother of Charles II. Despite his Protestant upbringing, he found favour under the Roman Catholic Duke.
  Jeffreys distinguished himself with black humour, for example noting that two brothers convicted of stealing lead from the roof of Stepney Church had "zeal for religion...so great as to carry you to the top of the church", and noting that they had narrowly avoided committing a capital offence.
caption: Portrait of Judge George Jeffreys, First Baron of Wem
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