Raymond de Sèze

Raymond de Sèze was born in Bordeaux, Aquitaine, and studied in the famous law school of that city.

Though he had to prepare his defence arguments in a short amount of time, his brilliance shone through in a first draft that, although moving, Louis rejected as too rhetorical, saying, "I do not want to play on their (the Convention's) feelings".

[citation needed] When the time for the real defence came, despite having had no sleep for over four days, de Sèze pleaded the King's case for three hours, arguing eloquently yet discreetly that the Convention should spare his life.

Beginning with a description of why the charges were invalid (under the terms of the constitution of 1791 Louis, as King, was immune from prosecution), he attacked the right of Convention to stand as judge and jury.

Upon the return of the Bourbons he was made a peer,[4] as well as a judge and a member of the French Academy, before dying at the age of seventy eight.