Thomas Fleming (judge)
| Thomas Fleming | |
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Sir Thomas Fleming
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| Born | April 1544 Newport, Isle of Wight |
| Died | 7 August 1613 Stoneham Park, Hampshire |
| Resting place | Stoneham Park, Hampshire |
| Residence | Stoneham Park, Hampshire |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Godshill School and Lincoln's Inn |
| Known for | Judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Chief Baron of the Exchequer |
| Spouse(s) | Mary James |
| Children | 7 sons, 7 daughters |
| Parent(s) | John Fleming, Dorothy Harris |
Sir Thomas Fleming (April 1544 – 7 August 1613) was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1581 and 1611. He was judge in the trial of Guy Fawkes following the Gunpowder Plot. He held several important offices, including Lord Chief Justice, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer and Solicitor General for England and Wales.
Fleming was the son of John Fleming, a general trader and mercer of Newport on the Isle of Wight, and his wife Dorothy Harris. The family lived in a house just to the east of the entrance to the corn market from the High Street in Newport. The Fleming family line had strong historical connections to the Isle of Wight, with several mentions of the name cropping up in previous historical documents and books. He went to school in Godshill and studied law at Lincoln's Inn where he was called to the bar in 1574.
In 1581, Fleming was elected Member of Parliament for Kingston upon Hull after the existing members were dismissed as idle and impotent. He was elected MP for Winchester in 1584, and was re-elected in 1593. His progression within the legal profession was fast (possibly due to several personal connections with the monarch); he became a serjeant-at-law in 1594, and shortly afterwards became Recorder of London.
In 1595, on the personal intervention of Elizabeth I, Fleming (in preference to Francis Bacon) was promoted to the position of Solicitor General, succeeding Sir Edward Coke who had become Attorney General. Historians regard the Queen's decision as a pointed reminder to her courtiers, most of whom had lobbied hard for Bacon, that she had the ultimate power of patronage. Fleming was praised by his contemporaries, more particularly Coke, for his "great judgments, integrity and discretion."
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