England Common Law Appellate Courts - International Institute: Difference between revisions

It should be noted that it was quite normal for a suit to be fought in several different courts, perhaps at the same time, in order to wear down the opposition or gain some advantage. For example in the 16^th and early 17^th century a defendant in a suit in one court might commence a suit in another in order to inhibit, by injunction, the litigation started in the first; for an example see Pinhorn (1983). There was a wide range of courts available, each becoming more rigid in its procedures with time, so that dissatisfied litigants appealed to the king, his council or one of his senior councillors (often the chancellor) for justice (see Hey has a good discussion on central courts). During the 13^th century the ''curia regis'' developed into three entities -''Common Pleas'', ''King’s Bench'' and ''Exchequer.''  

=== Curia Regis  ===

The records from 5 Richard I to 56 Henry III, that is 1194-1272, are at TNA in class KB 26. Plaintiffs often submitted their pedigrees to the court in order to establish their right as free subjects to plead. An introduction to the ''curia regis rolls'' 1199-1230 was written by Flower (''Introduction to the Curia Regis Rolls'' ''1199-1230 AD''. Selden Society volume 62. {{FHL|599447|item|disp=FHL film 1414824}}, who transcribed and indexed many of them—two examples are shown in the reference section. All sorts and conditions of men, and women, appear in these rolls as they were caught in the meshes of the law.  

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| ''A certain Richard who lost money playing dice with Henry II and had to mortgage his manor in Northamptonshire to pay him. ''<br>

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| ''The defendant in a case of an alleged stolen mare claimed he was given it and some pigs in exchange for teaching him fencing.''

Once a case has been identified the family historian will find much detail in the relevant ''depositions'', which can often give quite a history of relations between the parties involved as well as incidental detail of their lives.<br><br> Some examples of cases from King’s Bench include:  

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| ''The Selden Society has published a translation of select cases in the court of King’s Bench 1290-1300 in their volumes 55, 57 and 58 {{FHL|601163|item|disp=FHL film 1414823}} and volume 88 contains selected cases 1377-1422'' {{FHL|674302|item|disp=FHL book 942 p3ss v.80}}.

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| ''Titford has details of Burrow’s rare book on settlement cases at King’s Bench 1732-1776, with many examples.''

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| ''A Richard Jupp was challenged as a juror in the trial of William Stone for High Treason at King’s Bench in January 1796 as he was not a freeholder. (From Thomson Gale website).''

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| ''Newspapers reported the activities of the court with a great deal of relish, for example in The Times 26 Feb 1816 there is a long report of a smuggling case (The King v. Jupp) that took place near Brighthelmstone (now Brighton), Sussex involving 500 half ankers of spirits!''

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| ''Dodgy horse-trading in Clapham came before King’s Bench in 1817 - this case is described in East Surrey FHS Journal vol 25 #1, page xv.''

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| ''A nice example of a case heard at King’s Bench for grave robbery in 1828 in Yarmouth is given in Family Tree Magazine volume 8 #9, page 8.''

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| ''Another Queen’s Bench case reported in The Times in Nov 1841 and Jan 1842 concerns a libel suit against Thomas Topping, publisher of The Hull Packet for some nasty remarks about his local magistrates!''

'''Chart: Newspaper Report of Case at Court of Common Pleas 1823<br>The Times 28 Jun 1823 (pg 6, issue 11910, col D)'''<br>  

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| One of my (thankfully distant) relatives appeared at the '''''Court of Common Pleas''''' on 27 Jun 1823 in the case of ''Dashwood (clerk) v. Garnham''. Mr. Dashwood, a Church of England clergyman from Suffolk, was the plaintiff and the defendant was a shopkeeper at Beccles, who was sued for damages for malicious arrest. The report begins by explaining how Mr Dashwood confiscated his wife’s private income, then gave her an allowance which had not been paid for three years.<br>It appeared that Mr Dashwood ''was a man of a very strange and parsimonious disposition, and in the beginning of 1819 he forbade the defendant to give his wife credit. He and his wife did not separate, however, and are still living together, but not on the most agreeable terms. She was in the habit of dealing at the defendant’s shop, and between December 1819 and December 1821 she purchased various articles of dress for herself and her daughter (the latter a young lady of eighteen) which amounted to £54. Mrs Dashwood having no means of paying this, in consequence of the stoppage of her annual allowance, the defendant sent his bill to the plaintiff, who declined paying it.''<br>The defendant sued out a writ against him and Mr Dashwood was put in gaol for two hours, the time it took to procure bail. This information was collected from Mr Dashwood’s own brother-in-law, Mr Farre, who stated that ''he was a disgrace to his family''. After further details, ''the jury, without hesitation, found'' ''a verdict for the defendant''.<br>Annoyingly, ''The Times'' does not give first names anywhere in the article, and the Norfolk branch of the Dashwoods has several clergymen. From other studies I know this is Rev Jarrett Dashwood who married Harriott Burton in 1802. They had three sons and a daughter, Harriet born 1804, and both parents died in Beccles in the 1850s. Such fascinating material for a life-history! <br>

'''Chart: Some Cases in Star Chamber'''  

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! scope="col" | Parties<br>  

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