James De Lancey

James De Lancey
Governor of the Province of New York
In office 1753–1755
Preceded by	Sir Danvers Osborn, 3rd Baronet
Succeeded by	Charles Hardy
Governor of the Province of New York
In office 1758–1760
Preceded by	Charles Hardy
Succeeded by	Cadwallader Colden
Personal details
Born	November 27, 1703 New York City
Died	July 30, 1760 New York City
Alma mater	Corpus Christi College Inner Temple
Profession	Governor
Religion	Protestant (Huguenot)

James De Lancey (November 27, 1703 – July 30, 1760) served as chief justice, lieutenant governor, and acting colonial governor of the Province of New York.

De Lancey was born in New York City on November 27, 1703, the first son of Etienne de Lancey and Anne, a daughter of Stephanus Van Cortlandt. His brother, Oliver De Lancey, became a senior Loyalist officer in the American War of Independence, joining General Howe on Staten Island in 1776, and raising and equipping De Lancey's Brigade, three battalions of 1,500 loyalist volunteers from New York State. His sister Susannah Delancey (1707–1771) became the wife of Admiral Sir Peter Warren.

James went to England for his schooling, and to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, before studying law at the Inner Temple, London. Having been admitted to the bar in 1725, he returned to New York to practice law and enter politics.

Also in 1729, De Lancey was made a member of the New York Assembly, and in 1731 was appointed as second justice of the Supreme Court of New York. In 1730, De Lancey was chosen to lead a commission to frame a new charter for the City of New York. Passed into law in 1732 by the New York Assembly, "the Montgomerie Charter," was principally the work of James De Lancey, who, for his services, was presented with the Freedom of the City Medal.

In 1733, on the removal of chief justice Lewis Morris, De Lancey was appointed in his stead, and served as chief justice of New York for the remainder of his life. He presided over the 1735 trial of journalist John Peter Zenger on charges of sedition and libel against Governor William Cosby. Zenger won his case, and the Zenger trial is recognized as a landmark case in establishing freedom of the press in America.

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