He was held down in his chair by Holles and others on the occasion of Sir John Eliot's resolution on tonnage and poundage.

[5] In 1634, Finch was appointed chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and distinguished himself by the active zeal with which he upheld the king's prerogative.

Notable also was the brutality which characterized his conduct as chief justice, particularly in the cases of William Prynne and John Langton.

[5] Finch presided over the trial of John Hampden, who resisted the payment of ship money, and was chiefly responsible for the decision of the judges that ship-money was constitutional.

As a reward for his services he was, in 1640, appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, and was also created Baron Finch, of Fordwich.