Edwin John James QC (c.1812 – 4 March 1882) was an English lawyer who also practised in the U.S., a Member of Parliament and would-be actor. Disbarred in England and Wales for professional misconduct, he ended his life in poverty. He was the first ever Queen's Counsel to suffer disbarment. Early career His parents were John James, a solicitor and secondary of the City of London, and his wife Caroline née Combe, niece of Harvey Christian Combe. He unsuccessfully attempted to establish a career as an actor at an early age, taking lessons from John Cooper. He played at a private theatre in Gough Street, Gray's Inn Road, London and appeared as George Barnwell in The London Merchant at Cooper's Theatre Royal, Bath. But, he lacked the natural good looks to succeed in the theatre, being said by one Cyrus Jay to have "the appearance of a prize fighter". He turned to the law to become a barrister, being called to the bar by the Inner Temple in 1836. James practised on the Home circuit and his most famous cases included: The successful prosecution of poisoner William Palmer in 1856. The successful defence of Simon Bernard, who was tried in 1858 for complicity with Felice Orsini in his plot to assassinate Napoleon III of France. James aroused controversy with his defence that Bernard had intended to kill a person other than Napoleon III. John Simon was James's junior at the trial. The Canadian appeal case of the fugitive slave John Anderson. James was made QC in 1850 but was not elected a bencher of the Inner Temple as was customary. This may have been because of the Establishment's distaste for his radical sympathies and the nature of his practice. The Spectator described him as: James was appointed Recorder of Brighton in 1855, by that time enjoying an income of £7,000 per year (£477,000 at 2003 prices). In 1859 he was elected Liberal MP for Marylebone. Scandal As an MP, he was a loyal supporter of Palmerston and favoured the introduction of a ballot for parliamentary elections and the abolition of church taxes to support the state church. His radicalism went beyond the mainstream. He spoke in public in support of democracy and against Napoleon III, and spent part of 1859 at the camp of Giuseppe Garibaldi. His reputation suffered by his alleged bribery of voters in his campaign on behalf