Benjamin Boothby

Benjamin Boothby (5 February 1803 – 21 June 1868) was a South Australian colonial judge, who was removed from office for misbehaviour, one of four Australian supreme court judges removed in the 19th century.

He assisted Sir Thomas Wilde in his electoral campaigns and read in his chambers.

In 1853, Boothby was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia.

Boothby, in a series of judgments, adopted a pedantic approach to Imperial Law, holding a number of South Australian statutes invalid, including the Real Property Act 1857, which introduced the Torrens system of land registration in South Australia.

However, Boothby continued to create difficulties, refusing to acknowledge the authority of the Attorney-General and challenging the legality of the appointments of the other two judges of the Supreme Court on the supposed basis that only British-trained (in England, or Ireland; rather than in Australia) barristers could be appointed.