Sir Thomas Raymond or Rayment (1626/7 — 14 July 1683) was a British judge. Born to Robert Raymond, he was educated at a school in Bishop's Stortford

Bishop's Stortford

Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire in the county of Hertfordshire in England. It is situated just west of the M11 motorway, on the county boundary with Essex and is the closest large town to London Stansted Airport and part of the...

 before matriculating to Christ's College, Cambridge

Christ's College, Cambridge

Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...

 on 5 April 1643. On 6 February 1645 he joined Gray's Inn

Gray's Inn

The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...

, being called to the Bar there on 11 February 1651. In October 1677 he became a Serjeant-at-Law

Serjeant-at-law

The Serjeants-at-Law was an order of barristers at the English bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law , or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writs dating to 1300 which identify them as descended from figures in France prior to the Norman Conquest...

, before being appointed a Baron of the Exchequer on 1 May 1679 and knighted on 26 June. On 7 February 1680 he became a Justice of the Common Pleas

Justice of the Common Pleas

Justice of the Common Pleas was a puisne judicial position within the Court of Common Pleas of England and Wales, under the Chief Justice. The Common Pleas was the primary court of common law within England and Wales, dealing with "common" pleas...

, and on 24 April 1680 transferred to the Court of King's Bench

Court of King's Bench (England)

The Court of King's Bench , formally known as The Court of the King Before the King Himself, was an English court of common law in the English legal system...

. He died on 14 July 1683, leaving behind a set of law reports

Law Reports

The Law Reports is the name of a series of law reports published by the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting.The Council maintains that they are "'the most authoritative reports' and should always be 'cited in preference where there is a choice'." This series is now divided into four main...

 titled Reports of divers special cases adjudged in the courts of king's bench, common pleas, and exchequer in the reign of King Charles II, which were published in 1696, 1743, 1793 and 1803. His son, Robert Raymond

Robert Raymond, 1st Baron Raymond

Robert Raymond, 1st Baron Raymond PC was a British judge.Robert Raymond was the son of the judge Thomas Raymond. He was educated at Eton and Christ's College, Cambridge. Said to have been admitted to Gray's Inn aged nine, he became a barrister in 1697 and was admitted at Lincoln's Inn in 1710...

, also later became a judge. Commentators of the time identified him as having "extraordinary servility" and being an "unprincipled judge", with his failure in a witchcraft trial to point out the "irrationality" of the defendants' confessions leading to their death.