[1] He was initially, but wrongly suspected of being the author of the notoriously scurrilous "Juverna" letters, whose publication caused a major political scandal in 1803-5.

In 1790 he made an extremely advantageous marriage to Anne, daughter of Richard Annesley and Mary Tottenham, and niece of Charles Loftus, 1st Marquess of Ely.

[1] His conduct after his elevation seemed to be specially designed to irritate the Government: apart from his extraordinary behaviour on circuit in 1803, which led to the attempt to remove him from office, he was often absent from duty in England for months on end.

His strange conduct while on the North-West circuit in 1803, which led to his abortive impeachment, is difficult to explain, even allowing for his hot temper: Ball states that he "lost his head completely".

He was accused of partisan political motives; on the other hand, as Ball remarks,[2] the Robert Emmet rising and the murder of the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, Arthur Wolfe, 1st Viscount Kilwarden, had left the whole judiciary in an extremely agitated state, and better-tempered men than Fox were behaving strangely.

[2] In fact, the author was another High Court judge, Robert Johnson, who after a long delay was prosecuted and convicted of seditious libel, and forced to retire under threat of being removed from office.