Joseph Mérilhou
| Joseph Mérilhou | |
|---|---|
Mérilhou in 1835
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| Born |
15 October 1788 Montignac, Dordogne, France |
| Died | 18 October 1856 (aged 68) Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Lawyer, magistrate, politician |
| Known for | July Monarchy Minister |
Joseph Mérilhou (15 October 1788 – 18 October 1856) was a French lawyer, magistrate and politician. He was Minister of Public Education and Religious Affairs, and then Minister of Justice in the Cabinet of Jacques Laffitte (2 November 1830 to 13 March 1831).
Joseph Mérilhou was born in Montignac, in the Périgord region, on 15 October 1788. He was the son of Jean Mérilhou and Madeleine Desmond. He studied the classics in Périgueux. He qualified as an advocate from the school of law in Paris. He became an advocate in the First French Empire, and was an assistant procurer-general in the Court of Paris during the Hundred Days.
After the Bourbon Restoration Mérilhou was placed on the list of magistrates suspended from their functions, and was obliged to leave Paris for several months. After returning he rejoined the bar and took part in the struggles of the constitutional opposition. In 1817 he defended Comte and Dunoyer, editors of the Censeur, against the correctional tribunal. He was one of the founders of Society of Friends of Press Freedom. Mérilhou defended the Duclos brothers at the court of assizes in Paris when they were accused of being part of the "black pin" conspiracy. He also defended Arnold Scheffer, Brissot and Feret, trying to show in each of his pleadings the need to place the institutions of France in harmony with what he thought was the spirit of the Charter of 1814.
On 14 July 1819 Mérilhou won the first case pleaded before a jury, that of Gossuin, editor of the Bibliothèque historique, charged for having criticized the Swiss in the king's guard. As a member of a company responsible for helping the families of citizens in preventative detention, he was prosecuted for this activity. He was defended by Dupin the Elder and discharged on 23 June 1820. Mérilhou was a leader of the Carbonari. He defended Bories, one of the four Sergeants of La Rochelle, in August 1822. The Advocate General Louis Antoine François de Marchangy alluded to him when he said in his indictment, "Here the real culprits are not those in the dock, but those on the benches of advocates."
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