James Alexander Rentoul (1854 – 12 August 1919) was an Irish-born British judge and politician.
Rentoul was a strong opponent of the Irish language; at Westminster in July 1900 he stated that the Irish language had no value and should not receive any support by the public education system, he stated that Irish-speaking children should be taught exclusively through English and expressed a desire for the Irish language to become extinct.
[5][1] According to The Times, Judge Rentoul was 'patient and kind in the performance of his duties, but it would be useless to pretend that he was a success on the Bench'.
On a number of occasions his decisions were severely criticised by the Court of Criminal Appeal, one being described as 'unusual and extraordinary'.
[1] His son, Gervais Rentoul, became Member of Parliament for Lowestoft.