Jean-François Fournel
French lawyer and jurist (1745–1820)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jean-François Fournel (1745 – 21 July 1820) was a French lawyer, jurist, and member of the Parlement de Paris.[1][2]
Jean-François Fournel | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1745 |
| Died | July 21, 1820 (aged 74–75) |
| Occupations |
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Biography
Early career
Fournel was born in Paris[3] and came from a family with connections to the legal and judicial spheres in that city.[4] He joined the Ordre des avocats de Paris (transl. Paris Bar Association) in 1771 when he was approximately 27 years-old.[4][3] He was known to write legal briefs and rarely pleaded cases in court.[3]
Exoneration of Marie Salmon
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In 1786, Fournel worked with Rouen lawyer Pierre Noël Lecauchois to exonerate Marie Salmon, a young domestic servant who was wrongfully convicted of fatally poisoning her employer and was sentenced to be tortured and burned alive.[6] Fournel and Lecauchois successfully argued her innocence in widely circulated legal briefs printed by Parisian publisher Cailleau.[7][8]
After Salmon's exoneration, Fournel's legal brief, Consultation pour une jeune fille condamnée à être brûlée vive (transl. Consultation for a young girl condemned to be burned alive), was read at the Vatican, and the Pope named him a Knight of the Golden Spur.[9]
French Revolution and beyond
Fournel was not supportive of the French Revolution.[4] During the years of the revolution, he retired from public life and spent his time writing and collecting documents to publish later.[10] When Napoleon came to power and established the Napoleonic Code in 1804, Fournel returned to practicing law and published numerous works of legal scholarship and case law.[11]
In March 1816, Fournel was elected president of the Ordre des avocats de Paris.[1][3] He died on 21 July 1820.[1]
Works
An incomplete list of books and legal briefs written by Jean-François Fournel:
- Traité de l'adultère considéré dans l'ordre judiciaire, 1778[12]
- Traité de la séduction considérée dans l'ordre judiciaire, 1781[13]
- Consultation pour une jeune fille condamnée à être brûlée vive, 1786[14]
- Dictionnaire raisonné, ou Exposition par ordre alphabétique, des lois sur les transactions entre particuliers, 1797[15]
- Analyse raisonnée de la loi du 27 Thermidor an VI, 1798[16]
- Traité du voisinage, considéré dans l'ordre judiciaire et administratif, 1812[17]
- Histoire des avocats au Parlement et du barreau de Paris depuis S. Louis jusqu'au 15 octobre 1790s, 1813[18]
- Histoire du barreau de Paris dans le cours de la Révolution, 1816[19]
