1800 Viscount Avonmore in the Peerage of Ireland. As Chief Baron he led the opposition to the proposal to increase the number of judges in each of the courts of common law from three to four, on the practical ground that four-judge courts often divide evenly and thus cannot reach an effective decision. Despite this common-sense view, the new judges were eventually appointed. William Orr In 1797 he attained a degree of infamy for presiding over what was widely regarded as a "show trial" which led to the execution of the United Irishman, William Orr (although Yelverton is said to have shed tears when passing the death sentence on Orr). Orr was charged with administering the United Irish oath to a soldier called Hugh Wheatly; this had recently become a capital offence. In fact, it was generally believed that another man, William McKeever, administered the oath. Wheatly, who was the principal witness for the prosecution, later confessed that he had perjured himself, but despite a superb defence by John Philpot Curran, Orr was found guilty and hanged. Yelverton may have formed an early impression of Orr's guilt and acted on it - even his admirers admitted that as a judge he lacked impartiality. Peter Finnerty, a journalist, was later convicted of seditious libel for publishing an attack on Yelverton over his conduct of Orr's trial: this did nothing to enhance the judge's reputation. Death He died in 1805 at his mansion, Fortfield House, Terenure, County Dublin, which he had built at great expense around 1785. Personality To his colleagues at the Irish bar, Yelverton was a popular and charming companion: even John Philpot Curran, despite their frequent courtroom clashes, seems to have liked Yelverton personally. Curran and Yelverton were co-founders of the popular drinking club called The Monks of the Screw. Being a man of insignificant physical appearance, he owed his early successes to his remarkable eloquence, which made a great impression on his contemporaries; as a judge, he was inclined to take the view of the advocate rather than that of the impartial lawyer. Ball considered him one of the most learned judges of his time. While Edward Cooke called him "a brute", this simply reflects Cooke's low opinion of all the Irish judges of his time Sir Jonah Barrington wrote that for all Yelverton's faults, and his lack of any real moral code, it was impossible not to