Marston Garsia
Marston de la Paz Garsia was an English actor, barrister and legal scholar. He is known for launching Sweet & Maxwell’s Law in a Nutshell series and for his work as an editor of Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice.
Early life and education
Garsia was born on 17 July 1891 at Fairholme, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England. His father was Willoughby Marston de la Paz Garsia, a wealthy physician from Spanish Town, Jamaica. His mother was Minna Frances Garsia, who was born in Ahmedabad, India, where her father was serving as a lieutenant colonel in the British Army.He was the eldest of four children: Willoughby, Christina, and Freda. The children were educated at home by private tutors and did not attend school, as their father was highly cautious about public health risks. Within the household they developed self-sufficiency and creativity, and Marston frequently led his siblings in staging amateur theatrical productions, foreshadowing his later interest in the theatre.
Garsia went up to Merton College, Oxford, where he read for the Bachelor of Arts degree, conferred on 29 November 1912. He subsequently passed the General Examination for students of the Inns of Court and was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1915.
Career
After his call to the Bar, Garsia joined the South Eastern Circuit and practised primarily in criminal law from chambers in the Temple. He appeared regularly in courts in London and Kent.At an early stage in his career, he supplemented his income from the Bar by working extensively as a private law tutor, preparing students for the Bar examination, particularly in Roman law, criminal law, criminal procedure and evidence. Later parts of his career were punctuated by appearances on stage and in film, wartime military service, and legal writing.
Acting
For a brief period Garsia pursued what he described as "a dream of being an actor". In 1920 he appeared on the London stage for one season as the butler Fellows in John Galsworthy’s play The Skin Game at St Martin's Theatre. He reprised the role in the British–Dutch silent film adaptation, The Skin Game.Nutshells
In 1921, Sweet & Maxwell published Garsia's Roman Law in a Nutshell, which was written as a concise statement of the law to meet the demands of students who were reading for the Bar final examination. It proved immediately popular with law students, and Garsia launched the Law in a Nutshell series, subsequently authoring the following volumes and revised editions:Roman Law in a Nutshell.Constitutional Law and Legal History in a Nutshell.Criminal Law in a Nutshell.Evidence in a Nutshell.Civil Procedure in a Nutshell.Carriage of Goods by Sea in a Nutshell.Master and Servant in a Nutshell.Wills in a Nutshell.Bankruptcy in a Nutshell.Equity in a Nutshell.Real Property in a Nutshell retitled as Conveyancing in a Nutshell.These books were described both as "cram-books" for times of examination, but also as being intended to assist students in the reading of larger works.
The series became so well known that The Times began Garsia's obituary by saying: "The name of Marston Garsia... will recall to some members of the Bar their student days and their recourse to his succession of ‘Nutshells’ which helped them to success in Bar Final examinations."
Garsia also wrote A New Guide to the Bar in 1928, which was a practical guide to Bar admission requirements, regulations, and examination preparation.
Practice at the Bar
Garsia appeared regularly in courts in London and Kent. He was known as a forceful and courageous advocate, who had a thorough mastery of every case in which he appeared, but did not achieve the measure of success in the criminal courts which his ability deserved.He appeared as counsel in numerous reported cases before the Court of Criminal Appeal, including:R v Hussey 180 million App R 160.R v White 200 million App R 61.R v Frampton 210 million App R 17.R v Towers 210 million App R 74.R v Pollinger 220 million App R 75.R v Larsonneur 240 million App R 74.R v Smith 250 million App R 119.R v Goldfarb All ER 169; 250 million App R 161.R v Perry 310 million App R 16.R v Fitzpatrick 2 KB 203; 1 All ER 769; 320 million App R 164.
By 1969 he had effectively retired from active practice.
Wartime service
During the Second World War, Garsia served as an officer in the Royal Air Force.Archbold
Together with T. R. F. Butler, Garsia edited the 31st through the 37th editions of Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice.The Times lauded Garsia's "long association with Archbold," noting that "seven successive editions of the work bear the stamp of his industry and clarity of thought as co-editor."